Eternal Heavens
by K'thardin
Summary: Peoples lives and thoughts reach far and have consequences, both subtle and dire. And soon, everyone will know this.
1. Walker of the Stars

Eternal Heavens  
  
Author's forward: Welcome to the rewrite! Heh, in this I will attempt   
to do everything that I wanted to do when I first started this fic. I   
hope you enjoy it! Special thanks to Seion who let me borrow his  
character for this fic, and to Morgan Hudson, D.B. Sommer, the guys on  
for #TenchiFF, and of course, my beloved Lita who provided invaluable  
gramatical, spelling, character and continuity assistence. Thank you  
all so much (especially you D.B. Literary Eagle was soooo jealous  
that you outdid her nitpicking with your own. ^_^)  
  
Gathering of the Children  
-Walker of the Stars  
  
Opening Theme: Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns and Roses  
  
BGM: Robert Miles' Album: Dreamland  
  
Sentient beings have a rather interesting view of how the universe   
works. Some have a general feel that the universe is alive; that it has   
a consciousness. It watches us, studies us, and dissects us for some   
unfathomable reason that only it and possibly some types of fungi could   
understand. That to discover that purpose would drive one mad.  
  
There are those who think that throughout all of this the universe  
guides us...cares for us in its own way.  
  
Some think that even the universe is the one being guided on some   
journey, and that they are naught but bits and pieces of machinery in   
this great venture.  
  
However most just think the universe is either:  
A. Out to get us,   
and/or  
B. Uses us for its own personal entertainment.  
  
If you were Kiyone Makibi, it would be a bit more than a belief.   
It would be a certainty.  
  
Things started out okay for her. She was your basic five foot ten  
inches and one hundred fourty-five pound humanoid, with teal hair, blue  
eyes, better than average intelligence, and a figure most would kill to  
possess...the method of possession depended on the individual, of course.  
She had also found that she had a distinct talent for espionage and  
covert operations, which she employed in the humble and rewarding pursuit  
of justice, making her a perfect candidate for the Galaxy Police...a  
profession she threw herself into with an enthusiasm bordering on  
obsession.  
  
Of course...that's when it all went to hell. Perhaps she should   
have expected it, as everything had always gone her way until...then.   
Hell, odds were something had to go wrong.  
  
But why, oh why did it just have to keep going wrong? Hadn't she   
suffered enough? Hadn't she paid her karmic debt, whatever it was?   
Couldn't the universe just grow weary of her, and simply send her tired  
soul to the next life?  
  
The answer was almost painfully obvious. Just when she thought she   
was free, just when she thought nothing in this entire universe could   
possibly save her from her preordained fate...it had one last twist to   
pull.  
  
She was considering all this miserably, as she idly played with   
this 'twist' in her section chief's office.  
  
Section X. The one dealing with VERY weird stuff...and the   
operatives themselves were eccentric in their own way. It was no wonder   
they all started chuckling when episodes of the 'X Files' started making   
their way to the many peoples of the universe from the unknown source of   
the third planet orbiting Sol.  
  
All had a little extra something that made their mission success an   
actual possibility. Oh sure, the pay was much better as she had been   
promoted to Major...of course that had been about meaningless,   
considering you had to be at least lieutenant to be in this section. The   
danger wasn't anything she was unaccustomed to...of course normally danger   
wasn't the type of interdimensional monster or insanely super powered   
criminal you'd be suicidal to take on without a dimensional cannon or   
better.  
  
At least...  
  
Actually, that was bittersweet when she thought of it. There was   
something to that time she was with her partner. Even after that   
unfortunate incident that left her partner's mind fragmented, making her   
a mere wraith of her former self.  
  
At least she knows I'm still alive, Kiyone thought to herself which   
somewhat raised her spirits.  
  
As it was, most didn't know the fact that she was still alive. Most   
of those in Section X were presumed dead or missing by the general   
populous, which had aided their operations more times than they could   
count. That and the powers that be had a better chance of plausibly   
denying all knowledge of such matters...after all; the personnel in   
question were already dead.  
  
The only way she'd be able to see her erstwhile former partner was   
if she were to be put on an assignment in which contact with that woman   
was unavoidable. That didn't seem too likely all things considered, and   
she had had to leave very abruptly after the Kain incident so she hadn't   
gotten to spend any real 'quality time' with Mihoshi anyway.  
  
The door to the office slid open behind her. She barely   
acknowledged the diminutive presence of the Section Chief, as she walked   
in and around Kiyone. Setting herself down on a seat behind the desk   
across from Kiyone, she shuffled some papers in her 'In Box' and smoothed   
back her hot pink hair, uncovering some tattoos that marked her as a   
member of the Juraian Lords, very briefly before she focused her   
attention on Kiyone.  
  
"Mind getting rid of that?"  
  
Kiyone absently grabbed the ball of green energy, reabsorbing it   
into herself. Her arm glowed briefly for a moment in the aftermath of   
its snuffing.  
  
"So, how is life?" The chief asked amiably.  
  
"Same as usual." Kiyone replied.  
  
The Chief chuckled. "Eh, didn't know it was that bad. Told you,   
you should have taken some leave awhile back though."  
  
Kiyone rolled her eyes, and gave the mock glare of the 'yeah, I  
know, you told me so' look. "Anyway, how goes the construction of the  
new 7th Headquarters?"  
  
"Oh, basic structure is done, they're installing the support   
equipment and a more permanent dimensional power system as we speak.   
Pretty soon they'll begin the installation of the new subspace   
containment center." Kiyone grimaced when she mentioned that.  
  
"Did they ever find out how Kain got out?"  
  
"No. Equipment failure, and the possibility he might have   
overpowered the station has been ruled out. Only thing they can theorize   
is that some outside force must have weakened the barriers enough to   
allow Kain to escape."  
  
They both considered each other for a moment, sharing in silent   
communication the full implications of that particular statement.  
  
"Any leads?" The chief asked.  
  
"No. If anyone was good enough or powerful enough to do that it   
would be unlikely that we would catch them, even if there were any   
detectable traces...which there weren't. The investigation continues of   
course." Though her tone betrayed her doubt of them finding anything of   
import.  
  
The Chief nodded her agreement, already knowing full well what   
Kiyone was telling her.  
  
This meant it would likely go into the files of unsolved mysteries   
that took up more than their fair share of the storage facilities of this   
particular starbase, which just happened to be the size of your average   
spherical ship designed to annihilate worlds. Too bad the designer of it   
would never be able to claim any monetary compensation for his   
plagiarized idea. He'd never see it, being on a technologically   
backwater world, poor sod.  
  
The Chief then picked up a small stack of papers she had set aside   
on her desk and handed them to Kiyone. Kiyone took them, and scanned   
their contents, making little humming sounds at certain points. At the   
end she neatly stacked them on the desk, and handed them back to her   
superior. Without skipping a beat the Chief tossed them into the small   
molecular destabilizing chamber behind her on the wall, or 'The Burner'   
as it was nicknamed by most. The document was vaporized instantly in a   
very brief flash of light.  
  
"So, you'll want me to check it out?" Kiyone stated as she nodded   
her head in what she already knew would be an affirmative answer.  
  
"Yes," the Chief said needlessly. "The Youma have always   
been...isolationist at best. Still, they normally give some indication   
that they are still alive, trade some goods with the rest of the galaxy,   
and even some empires in nearby galaxies, like the Tetranians. Though   
you'd think that would be the height of stupidity, considering the   
penchants of Tetranians." The Chief paused, to regain her breath   
momentarily after going off on that tangent. Kiyone had become well   
acquainted with it over the years, and knew to just let that run its   
course. She'd get to the point eventually. "Background subspace   
chatter...but now, all that has ceased. The confirmation that something   
was seriously wrong came from the escape vessel that contained a few   
refugees. Their technology has always been somewhat like Juraian   
Treeform, without the unique Jurai Powers, of course." Of course, Kiyone   
nearly smirked. "Imagine our surprise when we found them in that rather   
interesting life vessel, totally unlike anything they were known to have.   
I'm told that the metals, if those substances could be even called   
'metal,' used to make that ship were of the sort that even the Galaxy   
Academy still considered...classified."  
  
Growing a bit impatient, Kiyone decided to speed up the process a   
bit. "You couldn't get anything other than 'It's the end! We will soon   
be judged!' out of them?"  
  
"No," the Chief answered. "The women and children were all huddled   
around each other and praying to their patron goddess." The Chief   
suddenly started opening drawers and shuffling through her desk. Finally   
finding something she tossed it to Kiyone. "That was supposed to be a   
carving of her, they were carrying far many more than...are you alright?"  
  
"Hmm?" Kiyone started. "Yeah...yeah...I'm fine."  
  
"You sure? You know something about that statuette?"  
  
Kiyone glanced at it only momentarily. "I thought I'd seen it   
before somewhere...an image like this goddess somewhere...never mind.   
It's not important." she said, pocketing it quickly.  
  
The Chief looked at her skeptically, but did not press the issue.   
"Anyway, we need one of us to go and scout around, and report anything."  
  
"Anything?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"Anything." The Chief repeated.  
  
Sensing this to be a dismissal, Kiyone arose and turned to walk out   
of the office, but not before she took some of the Chief's gumdrops out   
of her candy jar.  
  
The Chief frowned at Kiyone's back, as she exited.  
  
"Damnit...you guys know how hard it is to steal this stuff from   
Earth?" She complained to no one in particular, popping a couple of the   
gumdrops in her mouth for good measure. "I mean, really..."  
  
Kiyone proceeded down the many twisting corridors of the office   
levels, to one of the lifts that would take her down to the living   
quarters of this space station. She could have taken an easier route,   
but last time she did that, she accidentally wound up passing through and   
shorting out one of the power transformers that led to her living   
quarters. How was she to know the nebulous energy form that she used to   
pass through matter would have had that effect on that piece of   
equipment? Of course, had they stopped to consider what she became while   
incorporeal, it probably would have been apparent that phasing through   
electronic gear was not a good thing, but hindsight 20/20 and all. Well,   
at least nothing had been permanently damaged, and there was a backup   
transformer system that power was immediately rerouted to...still   
something to keep in mind.  
  
Coming to the lift she keyed in the floor where her room was   
located. The door to the spherical transport swung open and a couple of   
other operatives passed her...one in particular caught her attention.  
  
Like he would walk by without saying anything. She figured she   
better go ahead and acknowledge his presence.  
  
"Seion," Kiyone said in simple greeting.  
  
Which he would have none of. "Kiyone!" he shouted, his eyes   
lighting up. He reached out quickly and picked her up, squeezing her   
tightly. "Ah, my big sister! I'm going to hug you and squeeze you and   
pat you and pat you and sit on you to make you warm, so you never feel   
rejected!" His female companion rolled her eyes, and went off, knowing   
as she did that it would likely be a bit before the big Amanese warrior   
had finished his 'brotherly duties' concerning Kiyone.  
  
"You sit on me, and I swear I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!"  
  
He grinned at her mock-serious (as he had no doubt in his mind that   
she WOULD...actually she HAD, in fact, beat him severely around the head   
and shoulders) threat, and set her on the ground. "How could I not want  
to sit on you to keep you safe?"   
  
His tone was merry, but his eyes betrayed the seriousness of his   
statement. Damn...he still hasn't gotten over my being gone for so long,   
she thought to herself. She grimaced, though she couldn't really bring   
herself to be annoyed with him. He was worried...even more worried now   
that she had been recruited to the same branch of the GP that he had.   
And he had been among the hardest hit when she had 'died.' She couldn't   
really blame him for feeling like he did. She'd probably feel the same   
were it him. Well, actually she did now that she thought about it. When   
he was first recruited, after his "accident," and turned into a nano-tech   
cyborg she WAS quite worried...considering he'd vanished for months   
without a trace before she had even found out where he had disappeared   
to.  
  
The jerk. She had half a mind to beat him up again for that.  
  
"Going on another assignment, huh?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"You know...if you need someone to watch your back, I'm sure Chief   
wouldn't mind it if I..."  
  
"I'll be fine!" She cut him off...a bit too forcefully; judging by   
the slight hurt his face betrayed. "It's a simple surveillance   
operation. Get in, see what there is to see, and get out. The less   
people around to get caught the better." She sighed, and looked into his   
eyes...such a deep blue, so much like her own. "I know you don't like me   
doing things like this. I know you didn't want me to join this   
division." She reached out and touched his face and softly spoke, "And I   
know you don't want me risking my life...not after I was supposedly dead   
for so long, but this is my life too. I will protect you, little   
brother, as you protect me, as we both protect people. And not anyone -   
not even you - can stop me."  
  
Seion grimaced at the finality of her words. He felt his duty very   
keenly, more because his duty was to that which he loved. He loved his   
sister, so she was under his protection. She, however, had the same   
sense of duty to those same people whom she loved as well. And she was   
the eldest, if only by a couple of minutes, damn her. "I've...heard some   
things. I've got a bad feeling about this one. If you need help...if   
you even think you have a problem..."  
  
She smiled. "I'll call," she told him reassuringly.  
  
"By the way," he added as she entered the lift. "I've already   
packed your stuff, and added a few extra gizmos in case you need 'em."  
  
"Quit mothering me!" she complained, as the doors closed.  
  
"Someone has to," he said quietly.  
  
He smoothed back his teal colored hair, and considered he might   
need to trim it as he mentally activated the 'com' feature of his   
nanites, by configuring their pattern inside his body, into a subspace   
communications array. Damn, but those techs gave him some cool toys!   
"Yo, Wallabee."   
  
Speaking. He heard inside his head.  
  
"Get my ship ready, would you?"  
  
What for?  
  
"Well, looks like the Chief listened to my report, got a bit   
worried, and sent one of the power houses to take a look."  
  
A pause. Your sister?  
  
"Yep."  
  
It'll be ready when you need it. Wallabee's voice paused. You   
know you won't be able to catch up with her, even if you start now.  
  
"Yep."  
  
Heh, keeping sisters out of trouble is always a chore.  
  
"You're telling me." he replied wryly. "Seion out."  
  
The door to Kiyone's simple living quarters opened with a slight   
hiss of solenoids being energized and motors moving. As she walked   
inside, the lights came on automatically...and quite needlessly. Around   
her form was a bright glowing field of green energy, whose patterns   
shifted and writhed around her like a living thing searching for only it   
knew what.  
  
She took no note of her surroundings, not that there was much to   
see other than her collection of rarities and trinkets she kept in a few   
cases along the walls...the cases themselves being made of wood worked in   
the Juraian skill of woodwork. Dark, almost a black color, and the   
'grain' more sturdy than even some forms of battle armor, they were older   
than many civilizations, and gifts from her former partner's mother, who   
was a dealer in antiquities. Surprising such a thing found its way to a   
simple dealer...but then Mihoshi's mother was hardly 'simple' anything,   
though few knew the truth of that situation.  
  
Her bed - unlike the rest of her room - was a bit of a gaudy   
affair. It was all decked out in teal sheets with frills and lace and   
the cover being a fluffy comforter of a slightly darker shade than her   
sheets. The pillow was large and fluffy, it hung over the sides of the   
bed, was so thick it looked to almost be a second mattress, and had a   
coverlet of emerald upon it. The entirety of the spread was encircled by   
a translucent bug guard, a total affectation considering the only insects   
on the station were the sentient type; like the rest of bed, it too was a   
shade of green.  
  
This would have been the case, had not all those sheets, blankets   
and pillows been moved from their nice and orderly arrangement. Instead   
they had been wadded up and tossed around, and the black traveling case   
that Seion promised, placed at the foot of her bed; making it look very   
much like a hurricane had hit it.  
  
Or a Seion.  
  
Her brother seemed to have this annoying idea that she was too   
uptight and needed to loosen up a bit. So what if her room had not a   
speck of dust in it, and the bed made with military creases?  
  
I just liked my stuff neat, that's all! She complained to herself   
as she absentmindedly made minor adjustments to her uniform that had come   
out of place as she moved.  
  
She sighed in defeat, knowing that she didn't have time to   
straighten it up, and that her brother would probably consider it a minor   
victory. She sat down and picked up the traveling pack and opened it.   
Scanning it, she noted it was her basic gear: a high resolution scanner,   
capable of taking EM samples from both spectrums of matter down to the   
quantum level and up to 12 dimensions; a backup recorder (though it was   
unlikely the memory in the scanner would fill up, but it never hurt to be   
careful), a communicator, a candy bar (though she no longer required   
food, it still tasted good), and an emergency beacon capable of returning   
to base from any place in the given galaxy. That was only in the first   
layer; pulling that out, she discovered what her brother had left her at   
the second.  
  
A look of disbelief crossed her features, as she pulled out what   
appeared to be a firearm of some sort. Shiny silver colored coating   
glistened in her radiance, as her grip tensed and relaxed on the grip,   
which felt like rubber, but she knew was probably tough enough to   
withstand a full nuclear explosion. It was at least a full 12 inches in   
length...though it was remarkably light.   
  
"You sure know how to take care of a girl, that's for sure," she   
remarked lightly, placing the gun back into the case, and pulling out one   
more item with her other hand.  
  
A simple knife...probably one of the never dull types that were   
tempered in temperatures near that of a star's core, aligning the quarks   
on a quantum level to be harder than the legendary adamantine rock.  
  
On a hunch, she ran its edge lightly across her hand, and noted   
both the pain, and the cut that appeared. Green energy leaked like   
liquid from the wound, before closing...but it took a bit of time. As   
she suspected...its properties would allow it to disrupt energy as well   
as cut through matter effortlessly.  
  
Both the gun and the knife would be perfect backup weapons for her,   
in the unlikely event she would need them.  
  
She'd have to be damn weak before she'd have to resort to their   
use.  
  
That stopped her for a moment. Damn, I've been using my powers so  
often I've been thinking like a manga character who uses brute force and  
rarely thinks things through. You'd think my experience with Kain would  
have knocked that into my skull, and they did warn me about this frame of  
mind. She sighed and slammed the case closed with considerable more force  
than necessary.  
  
A balance would have to be found, she was once told. She had yet to  
find hers.   
  
Ah well, still if she found herself in such a situation that she   
needed them, she would most certainly be thanking the overprotective   
impulses of her brother. Smiling fondly she made her way out of her   
living quarters and to the nearest turbo lift to the hangar level; making   
sure before she left to stash the instructions for the gun in her breast   
pocket.   
  
It was going to be a couple of days before her unique method of   
travel got her to the other end of the galaxy. Though she'd be conscious   
for only part of it...still it would do good to keep her from being   
bored, and to familiarize herself with the weapon.  
  
The last thing she would need in the universe would be to listen to   
her brother saying "I told you so!" while she burned in hell.   
  
It would make him more insufferable than he already is, she   
figured.  
  
Kiyone mused on her upcoming assignment in the turbo lift, studying   
the statuette, the one that the Chief had said was from the Youma   
refugees, that had absentmindedly found its way back into her hand. It   
was coincidence...it had to be, but looking at it gave her chills and a   
vague feeling that there was a lot more that was going on in this   
situation than even the usual on goings.  
  
"You...but how?" she murmured to herself. She'd only seen it   
briefly, before it had faded: the robes, the runes of power, the silver   
hair that seemed to shine a radiance to drown even the brightest of   
stars, and those crimson eyes that saw too much. All of this was   
captured in immaculate detail, of the megami standing straight and tall,   
hands clasped before her as if in a prayer of her own.  
  
It couldn't be her! How would it be possible?  
  
Kiyone's mind conjured up possibilities, but all were beyond   
fantastic. Strangely she got the feeling that the truth would be far   
more unbelievable than even the theories her imagination had created.  
  
"Yep, me too Seion." she told her brother, who while not with her,   
would hear her on some level. "I've got a bad feeling about this."  
  
Ending theme - Dreams - Van Halen 


	2. Vengance Come to Me

Eternal Heavens  
  
Disclaimer: I'm poor, so don't bother sueing. I only own my original   
characters. Hell, I don't even own some of them, heh. I don't own any Tenchi   
characters. To be honest I can't afford them, though I think I'm handling them   
better than AIC is. _  
  
Author's forword: I warned you all; I'm going to meander around a lot. Trust   
me though, all loose ends will come together...though I expect if they don't   
I'll be beat 'til I'm black and blue. Heh.  
  
Now I'll beg for C&C (hey it works for Morgan Hudson, sorry dude, just had to   
point that out. ^_-)!!! PLEASE OH PLEASE CORRECT ME!!! ^_^ I'm at   
kthardin@yahoo.com , so feel free! ^_^  
  
Gathering of the Children  
-Vengeance Come to Me  
  
Opening Theme: Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns and Roses  
  
BGM: Involution - Dark Project  
  
Among the greatest mysteries of life is the one that states, "Looks can   
and are almost always deceiving." Which should lead one to wonder why we are   
given such a sense, if it quite often feeds us such false information. That   
answer is actually very simple.  
  
It is not the sight that is false, but our own perception of it that leads   
said sight to be false. Take for example, The Hall.  
  
The Hall, for that was the name given to the place by those who had built   
it, stood silent; save for the rustling of clothing as those present fidgeted or   
walked about on some errand or another. Not a word was spoken aloud; barely any   
were whispered. Most of the people simply sat in the tiered seats of the hall;   
many of whom glanced at each other in thinly veiled hatred. Some others noted   
the glances among their neighbors and made plans to take advantage of the   
situation for whatever reason, be it for alliances or for treachery. Still   
others typed on data pads on the tables provided before them, checking on   
various reports, issuing orders, and even sending written messages to loved   
ones. Other forms of communication were also being employed...from runners to   
subspace comms, from semaphore to interdimensional warping. Though perhaps one   
would think direct mind to mind communication would be by far the fastest and   
most useful. Possible misunderstandings such as, "I am going to kill you in   
ways that will make your descendants feel it for the next twelve generations,"   
would be avoided, as the meanings and feelings would be made perfectly clear;   
and the lag time between such messages would be absolutely zero. Certainly all   
in the room were capable of simple telepathy and more, but not one would dare   
power up even a whiff in a room filled with people ready to kill each other.   
Despite the look and feel of a more organized Wall Street stock exchange, this   
large group of people made the cutthroat economics of that particular   
institution look like the play of only a few day old kittens. There was enough   
hatred and instilled anger (much of which had become genetic by this point) that   
were anyone to even think about gathering the minute amounts of energy necessary   
to send the shortest of transmissions that one would wind up contracting himself   
a rather bad case of perished as weapons of nearly every conceivable type were   
shoved through all his vital organs in alpha-numeric order.  
  
Needless to say, this is something most would choose to avoid if they   
could.  
  
Even if that were not enough to cause the stupidest soul to quake with   
fear at such a fate, a simple look to the north end of the hall where the   
tiered seating trailed off and then into a throne which took up the entire north   
end, would be all that was needed.  
  
Its beauty was awe-inspiring. It was fashioned from hyper-dense, multi-  
colored crystal that spread out from the obsidian seat, perfectly situated on   
the floor right in the center of the northern wall. The light from the suns,   
that filtered through the skylight above reflected off the crystal in ways that   
made their colors seem to shift and move all over its wide expanse, and doubly   
so when both suns were high in the sky. Truly a sight to behold for anyone; yet   
this wonder was not what caused the fear that would have cowed even the most   
insane of spirits.  
  
It was the darkness, the inky blackness which seemed to suck up the light   
refracted by the crystaline seat of power, who resided there. It was the man   
who occasionally looked up from his data pad and, in that glance of baleful   
purple within purple eyes, gazed at everyone in a way that promised one day he   
was going to kill everyone in that room with his bare hands...slowly. It was   
him, that evoked the terror which kept those in the hall from displaying even   
the least of their natural abilities.  
  
For it was known also, that the man, who was named Emperor (for who else   
would have the gall to sit on such a grand seat?), had the power to do such a   
thing, and quite possibly all those in the hall combined would not have the   
power to stop him. Indeed, he was known to be the strongest of their race. The   
fact that there had been others stronger before him, one of which was his very   
own father who had killed the first Emperor in single combat, was of no   
consequence now. All that was relevant was that the man sitting on that throne   
was the one who was now the most powerful of all...and more than enough to   
eliminate them in any case.  
  
Strange, many thought, that the Emperor of their entire race would   
seemingly hold nearly all of them in murderous contempt. The way he glanced up   
every so often ever since he was elevated to his august rank many centuries ago,   
had only gotten steadily worse; and still chilled each and every one of them to   
the bone when he did let his eyes rove the various leaders, military commanders,   
delegates, representatives, and what have you that actually ran his empire and   
all the clans, families, and other associations therein.  
  
"WILL THE EMPEROR OF ALL TETRAN CONSENT TO RECEIVE THE HEIR?"  
  
A startled silence followed and all activity ceased. All eyes turned   
toward the large ceremonial doors, and it's guardian who had made the   
announcement, that covered the southern end of the hall. Like the throne, it   
too was constructed of the same multicolored crystal and took up the entire   
expanse of the southern wall, and the tiered seating tapered off before it   
reached said entrance.  
  
The man on the throne looked up from the forms on his table, his eyes   
boring into the door's guardian with such an intensity that it was no wonder the   
protector was not reduced to a pile of ash on the spot. It seemed the Emporer   
spoke barely above a whisper, yet no one could deny that they heard the words he   
spoke or the power that was carried with them when he said "Let the Heir come   
forth."  
  
The doors on the south wall began to lumber open soundlessly, and   
impossibly without mechanics, for they were too large for simple physical   
strength to be used without destroying the door. Still no one did so much as   
touch the shimmering brilliance around it, and still it opened outward of the   
room. At the same time, the Emporer's desk withdrew into the floor; removing   
all barrieres between himself and the Heir.  
  
Within moments it was revealed that it was indeed a solitary man that was   
causing this to happen. He stood, with his arms stretched out before him,   
opening wider as the door moved...a force that shimmered and warped the air   
emanating from his arms and surrounding the doors. His body shimmered in a soft   
colored orange light as the power continued to flow from to open the doors with   
the utmost care. A most interesting effect; considering the reflective property   
of his blue colored full body armor.   
  
A strange thing happened to those in the room then. Where before everyone   
had their own agenda, now all combined looked upon this newcomer with a mutual   
respect and, in some cases, adoration. All put aside their hatred, their anger,   
and their imperative to kill their neighbor and practically genuflected in the   
Heir's presence, as he walked through those massive doors with a small entourage   
in tow.  
  
The aura remained around him, as he used it to smooth back his long blue-  
black hair and close the doors behind him in a far less melodramatic fashion.  
  
This man was not pretty in any way shape or form, but his power did not   
lie with his looks. He carried his power with sheer force of will; he radiated   
authority and charisma in such mass quantities that one could not help but give   
him the respect he demanded.  
  
He could be walking into The Hall right now, naked as the day he was born,   
and still command the very same obeisance.  
  
Well, maybe not the same, as it would be likely that the females present   
would be in various stages of fainting, but then again that could be considered   
a form of err...respect. Maybe.  
  
Quite a number of the female persuasion were almost at that point   
regardless of his clothing. Still it was a strange thing that when he came here   
this time for all his attention was directed at the seat of power itself; his   
face set in an expression of cold inscrutability.  
  
Considering he was smiles and nods during previous visits, this was indeed   
a cause for some concern. It seemed that the Heir had bad news for the Throne.  
  
All wondered what it could be. Was the empire being invaded? Had perhaps   
the Juraians or some other empire declared openly hostile intentions? Did some   
sort of disaster, such as the great T'larian massacre, happen? Speculation,   
such as this, was inevitable, but quickly pushed aside and dismissed as   
needless. They would know the answer soon enough.  
  
Some eyes then roved over those that came with the Heir. Behind him,   
walked his wife and his daughter. A vision of loveliness his wife was, with   
strange hair that would seem to shift colors from white to purple in patterns   
that responded to the way the suns would hit her tresses through the crystalline   
skylight above them. She too wore the severely metallic blue armor, but in her   
case it only highlighted what was already a flawless figure. Indeed, she was   
the target of much jealousy and envy by the women present; for she had the most   
perfect figure, and the most desirable husband that could be imagined. Not only   
that, but she was wise in the ways of politics, and a shrewd commander, both on   
the field and in the home. She was the perfect compliment to her husband, who   
shared that genius.  
  
Honestly, if ever they decided it was time to remove the current holder of   
The Throne, they would find all the support they could ever hope to have within   
the families of The Eternal Tetranian Empire. This despite the fact it would be   
suicide for them to try.  
  
It was also easy to see, however, that as those in The Hall looked upon   
the pair with a worshipful adoration, the Heir and his wife looked upon the   
Emporer in the same fasion.  
  
Their daughter however...  
  
How was it possible that two, who were so perfect and so perfectly   
matched, could produce...that?!  
  
She had inherited what seemed nothing of what either of her parents should   
have provided her. She was rather thin and underdeveloped, and quite a bit   
shorter than them both; which caused the blue armor she wore to seem to hang off   
her pre-pubescent frame. Her hair was an unhealthy looking shade of platinum   
blond, which was rather stringy and unkempt, though if you were her maids,   
they'd tell you how impossible it was to do anything with her tresses. Worst of   
all her eyes, which were the same blue on blue color as her parents, and   
seemingly the only trait she had inherited from either, had a vacant look to   
them. Perhaps even a bit of boredom, but whatever it was, it was certain to   
those present she was hardly the genius she should have been, considering who   
she had for parents.  
  
All three began to traverse the distance to the seat of power itself,   
their foot steps being the only thing heard in The Hall as all had grown silent   
after sensing the Heir's move. They stepped in time, each amplifying the other,   
and all echoing loudly off the walls surrounding them, seeming to herald in a   
doom that would shortly be realized. As the Heir and his family passed, each   
felt the passage of the One Who Brings Eternal Night in his bone. None could   
escape the chill it brought.  
  
All too briefly, the steps ended, and the three stood face to face with   
their lord and master. They kneeled before him upon one knee; their heads   
hanging low.  
  
"You have failed." If one could have seen the faces of the Heir and his   
wife, a slight tightening, akin to the reaction to the pain of taking a blow,   
would have been evident at the Emperor's statement. Their daughter, at least,   
knew enough to keep silent being that she was way out of her depth.  
  
The Emperor stood then, his table sinking into the floor; he stood, and   
kept on standing. He stood until he was fully erect, all seven feet of him. He   
was indeed very tall, but he was also incredibly broad of shoulder; making him a   
veritable Titan physically. Like the Heir, he too projected an aura that   
demanded the respect due him, but unlike the Heir, it was not the kind that   
instilled loyalty through love, but then that was more than evident before.  
  
Now, standing at full attention, the menace that he exuded permeated the   
room; overpowering the respect those in the room bore the Heir.  
  
There was calculation, consideration, even curiosity, but mostly fear.   
For he had failed. The HEIR had failed. It was hardly conceivable, considering   
the Heir had never failed at any task set before him, no matter how daunting.   
Still it was known that the Emperor had little tolerance for failure, and   
usually only one punishment was administered. This was the Heir though. Surely   
there would only be a small penance for this, before he was sent to correct this   
error...whatever it happened to be. It was inconceivable that there would be   
anything else.  
  
"How long has it been? Seven-hundred years? Eight-hundred?" The Emperor   
asked casually. "I asked you to look into why our empire was suffering what   
looked to be some sort of attack upon our sovereign. Pirate raids, random   
destruction, and even whole lesser families being destroyed every now and then.   
Yet you report that there is no clue, there is no trace? No god we might have   
offended? No revolutionary activity? No setup for a possible coup attempt of   
any family? Not even a chain of natural disasters? Nothing, but destruction   
for no rhyme or reason, and completely random." As the Emperor spoke, his voice   
became more and more hoarse, his anger seeping through, and in doing so   
agitating the wound he suffered to his throat long before he became the Emperor.   
If one were to look closely, assuming they dared to, one could still see the   
messy scar right along his voice box.  
  
There are many stories as to how he might have acquired it. Some say he   
dueled the original Emperor in The Hall, and was wounded in this manner before   
his father interfered and finally put the old Emperor down once and for all.   
Others said he received this wound as some kind of lesson in his training as a   
Deneign warrior priest; the symbol for which was branded forever more on the   
back his left hand; that of a Dragon, wings spread wide, atop a Phoenix,   
screaming with joy as if it had just arose from its ashes, signaling it's   
rebirth.  
  
The most unbelievable one, however, was that he was defending his second   
wife in one of the innumerable battles that took place between the families as   
they jockeyed for position in the ranks of their empire. In that one it was   
said he did indeed fight the Emperor himself, as the K'thardin family to which   
he hailed had grown so strong as to challenge the old Emperor's power. Rather   
than kill his enemy, the Emperor rendered him helpless, wounded his voice (which   
was said to actually be his most beautiful feature, for what is a handsome man)   
and then forced him to watch as he raped and murdered his second wife; which was   
meant to be a message to both him and everyone else that to attempt to usurp the   
throne was to invite a fate worse than death.  
  
While that story was not believed by most, it did amuse all somewhat. For   
if true, it was quite obvious now, that little message had the opposight effect.   
Then again, it would be another explanation why the current Emperor did what he   
did to the one he usurped just after the old Emperor's defeat.  
  
The old Emperor screamed for forty days and nights before he was finally   
allowed to die. During that time the current Emperor and his father carted all   
the current heads of the families and the various other associations in to watch   
the entire gruesome ordeal.  
  
Needless to say that assassination and coup attempts were few and far   
between.  
  
Now what the Emperor was saying about the attacks were well known to all   
present. In fact, most of them had suffered from these...disasters in various   
degrees ranging from the equivalent of a bug bite to having one's legs and arms   
slowly chewed off. That the Heir could not find the cause of this was   
disturbing in and of itself.  
  
"The most you have gotten for us is that all of these occurrences are   
related somehow. You received this information from the oracles, prophets, and   
truth-sayers that are in our fair empire. A dubious, but as of yet, ONLY source   
of information." The Emperor walked toward the kneeling Heir and his entourage.   
Kneeling down, he placed his hands upon the shoulders of the Heir, and lifted   
him to standing; though he only came up to the Emperor's chest and kept his head   
bowed before the taller man. His wife and his daughter were then silently   
motioned to rise as well; haltingly they did so, keeping their heads low as   
well.  
  
"You who were responsible for conquering the Jinai, the last of the   
autonomous empires within this galaxy and facilitating its assimilation into   
ours. You who discovered why and how the T'larian family was annihilated (may   
we never offend the Mad One again). You who actually negotiated a peaceful   
settlement with the Juraians over the intergalactic trade routes between our two   
galaxies. You who have never failed at any other deed and task I set before   
you." His scratchy voice grew quiet again, but as before all heard what was   
said as clear as distilled water. "C'mon! This is really messing The Empire   
up. Not only is it inconveniencing us, it's making a fool of us. Of all of us!   
Every man woman and child in the empire! Did you lose your pride, man? Are you   
not the Heir to all Tetran? Are you not the one who will inherit everything   
when your time for ruling comes?"  
  
"Please My Lord! Please! My husband has serv..." As quickly as the   
Heir's wife tried to speak in her husband's defense, so too was she silenced as   
the Emperor cast a baleful glance in her direction. The daughter began to   
tremble ever so slightly, as the enormity of the situation began to sink into   
her young mind and fear began to take over.  
  
"Have you nothing to say for...yourself?" The Heir's head shot up, and   
for a brief moment anger flashed across his eyes at the Emperor's somewhat   
obscure insult registered upon his mind.  
  
Quickly dismissed as the Heir nearly broke down in tears before his master   
and said with as much humility as he could muster, "I beg of you My Emperor   
Ryuken. I only wish to serve you. I beg for another chance. This will not   
happen again, I swear to you on my soul."  
  
"Indeed," the Emperor nodded his head grimly, "This will not happen   
again."  
  
It happened so fast; that it seemed nothing had happened at all. Yet, the   
Emperor's movement, and flash of power, was felt.  
  
The two of them stood there for what seemed an eternity, before both the   
Heir and his wife fell heavily to their knees making a clanking sound that   
echoed throughout The Hall. They hovered in that position momentarily, then   
they fell to the floor limply in unison, their armor ringing out, like a final   
tolling of the bells at midnight. Only when they hit the ground, did their   
heads roll from their bodies; their faces still set in masks of humility, and   
now set like that forevermore.  
  
A shocked silence fell over The Hall, no one believing what had just   
happened.  
  
Surely..? How..? What...? Can't be...just...can't be.  
  
No one spoke, but they did move; many to rise from their seats, and even   
one to draw her weapons.  
  
How could the Emperor possibly do...THAT!?  
  
The Emperor eyes noted the bright flash of a psi weapon being activated,   
and with the barest flicker of his power, destroyed it's source. Not to mention   
a few other unlucky individuals that happened to be too close to her.  
  
Everyone sat back down quickly as his eyes roved over each again,   
promising he'd do the same given even a fraction of an excuse.  
  
"It is true this will not happen again," the Emperor Ryuken stated as he   
continued to gaze at the congregation before him, "but it is also true I now   
need a new Heir." Without hesitation he pointed. "You. You will be my new   
Heir."  
  
And the former Heir's daughter, still unable to believe that her parents   
were laying dead at her feet, their crimson blood now pooling below her yet not   
gaining purchase upon her armor, turned a shocked look to her sovereign. All   
color had drained from her face, and her shaking causing a slight rattling sound   
as the various bits of her armor tapped against each other.  
  
"My first command to you is to complete what your father was incapable of.   
If you should repeat his failure, this will be your fate. Do you understand, my   
Heir," he asked placing an extreme emphasis on her new title to drive the   
reality of it home.  
  
A shuddering nod was the only response she was able to give.  
  
"Good. Now leave, and when next I send for you, have the answer with you.   
If you find it before then; make me aware of this." To her credit, though how   
she did it was anyone's guess, she managed to turn and walk calmly to the huge   
double doors that were opened by their guardians for her, for once outside, she   
ran for dear life.  
  
The Emperor then instructed the guards to remove the bodies and have the   
mess up on the seventh tier cleaned up, but all the while he kept an open eye on   
the masses of the Leaders of the Tetran before him.  
  
The daughter of the previous Heir was not someone that the families would   
follow without question. That ungangly and ugly girl did not have the genius or   
the charisma that were the trademark of her parents. How could the Emperor make   
her, of all present, the new Heir? How could the Emperor just KILL THE HEIR   
LIKE THAT?!  
  
Amidst all the outrage, and anger and shame he saw reflected in many   
faces, Ryuken also saw the beginnings of calculation, of how best to make use of   
this new situation. He saw alliances crumble, new ones form almost instantly.   
Old hatreds began to flare up, while new ones were just forming. Others were   
buried, and forgotten in light of what was done to their Heroes.  
  
Yes, Ryuken thought, as he took his place upon the crystalline seat of   
power. Perfect. A truly satisfied smile appeared on his face.  
  
"Let the endgame begin," he said quietly.  
  
Ending theme - Dreams - Van Halen  



	3. Crusaders Gather

Eternal Heavens  
  
Disclaimer: I'm poor, so don't bother suing. I only own my   
original characters. Hell, I don't even own some of them, heh.   
I don't own any Tenchi characters. To be honest I can't afford   
them.  
  
Author's forword: One of these days I'll get around to the main   
point or three of this fic. Promise. ^_^ I'd also like to thank   
all those that helped me out writing this fic, like the folks on   
Dalnet's #TenchiFF channel, my lovely girl friend, Morgan Hudson,   
and anyone else I might have forgotten. Heh.  
  
Now I'll beg for C&C. PLEASE OH PLEASE CORRECT ME!!! ^_^ I'm at   
kthardin@yahoo.com , so feel free! ^_^  
  
Gathering of the Children  
-Crusaders Assemble  
  
Opening Theme: Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns and Roses  
  
"Fascinating." she said to herself, "How very...droll."  
  
"Mistress Yumi?"  
  
The short furry scientist looked up, brushing her long ears   
across the edge of one of the floating black holographic computer   
terminals, causing it to distort momentarily. She grinned at her   
dark-shrouded companion before returning to tapping her fingers   
on the terminals that only with her touch became solidified   
light. Arms crossed, he walked up behind her, dwarfing her with   
his powerful body by a wide margin and looked over her shoulder.   
Her gaze was somehow locked onto a single screen as her hands   
quite literally flew across the terminals that sprang up and went   
away as she performed whatever tasks that she deemed necessary.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
She barely noted his inquiry as she reached out and used   
her taller companion's cloaked arm for support, and hopped off   
the floating green poof pillow she was sitting on. For his part,   
he had moved his arm out in clockwork-like movements, in time   
with her motion, to facilitate her dismount.  
  
He did this often.  
  
She walked around him, her hands still on his arm, though   
unable to encircle it with both hands as big as it was. Leading   
him to another set of terminals, she used his arm to pull herself   
up and onto a reddish gold colored floating cushion. Idly her   
taller associate wondered if the lack of a backrest was good for   
her posture.  
  
As if to prove his point, she stretched out, causing her   
back to give several loud pops as it realigned itself before she   
asked, "Ever had a question about something, Hishima? Something   
that just nagged at you and nagged at you and nagged at you 'til   
it drove you insane?"  
  
Hishima seemed to think for a moment, "I remember trying to   
find the name of the artist who sang the Highlander theme at one   
time."  
  
Yumi nodded. "Yes, I remember that. By the way," she said   
ominously, and not just normal ominously, this being the-pit-of-  
doom-may-you-burn-for-all-eternity-in-the-fires-of-Inferno   
ominously, "if you start singing that again, I will have to rip   
your memory modules out."  
  
"But aren't you fighting to survive in a war with the   
darkest power?" Amusement apparent in his voice as it spoke from   
the inky blackness that shadowed his face within the hood. He   
braced for what he had expected to be an annoyed scientist   
knocking him through the nearest bit of equipment and on through   
the wall, but was surprised when a concerned frown crossed her   
face as she glanced at him. "This wouldn't have anything to do   
with the recent acquisition of..."  
  
"That," she interrupted, "remains to be seen." Her hands   
flew over a new set of controls. "The involvement might just be   
coincidental. Or," her hands stopped and her eyes drilled into   
him, "it might mean everything."  
  
"Either way," anticipation crept into his voice, "It will   
be one hell of a fight?"  
  
She nodded. "It's looking more and more like it." Yumi   
laid a placating hand upon him, calming the slight twitching that   
had washed over her much taller assistant. "Patience. You may   
yet get the battle that you crave, my warrior."  
  
"So...what now?"  
  
"Now," she echoed raising her finger to the sky and   
shouting in enthusiastic abandon, "Now, it's high time we   
gathered our suck...err...allies to aid us!"  
  
"Refresh my memory: didn't we get our collective ass handed   
to us last time we tried this?" It was with great relief when he   
found himself moving into and through test equipment, thinking my   
it's nice that Mistress Yumi is still her normal bitchy self; and   
oh is that the Really Big Fish? Hi Mr. Fish! I'd wave, but I   
think I've just found myself imbedded in this...nope, went right   
on through the wall. Cool! That was solid duranium! Oh, stars!   
I see them!  
  
Further thought was not an option as unconsciousness found   
Hishima to be a good conversationalist and whisked him away for   
tea and cookies.  
  
Yumi playfully walked over, and looked down upon him,   
"NEVER doubt my skill...Oh DAMN IT! I broke a nail!"  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
"Gohegi..." was all she managed to get out, before she   
quite literally passed out. Sweat pouring off her body in   
amounts that would have her body begging for water when she   
regained consciousness, and a shower soon after. Her hair,   
unbound, flowed around her and her bedmate in a shower of dark   
blues and purples as she unceremoniously landed upon his chest.   
Even in slumber, her breathing was labored, coming to her in   
great shuddering gasps as if she had run a triathlon or some   
other equally physically demanding activity.  
  
Of course, considering her state of undress, and the near   
equally winded state of the man under her (not to mention his   
lack of clothing), one could indeed assume that she had been   
involved in the physically demanding, though very pleasurable,   
act of mating.  
  
The man's breathing however, was becoming less and less   
labored with each passing second; returning to normal far sooner   
than the young woman above him. Still, he was content to hold   
her as her body slowed down; finally becoming peaceful.  
  
Carefully he rolled her over; trying his best not to   
entangle her incredibly long tresses within his own hair as it   
was equally long. Adding another dimension of difficulty was   
moving so as not to poke her with the curved bone blade-like   
protrusions that jutted out dangerously from the back of his   
forearms. One false move and she'd be a few limbs short, or have   
a hole through her body where she definitely did not need one if   
she wanted to continue living.  
  
She didn't even resist; her arms flopping to her sides   
limply as the man moved her under him. Only the barest of smiles   
formed on her lips, parting just slightly.  
  
Invitingly.  
  
The man didn't hesitate in taking her offer, and moved down   
to kiss the woman. Then from her full and juicy lips, down her   
silken neck. Fangs in his mouth bared themselves as he ran them   
along her creamy skin. He grimaced suddenly, a small growl   
escaping from his throat, before he forcefully pulled himself   
away from the object of his desire.  
  
He was still -hungry- for her. The animal within him, as   
if he had been in a barren wilderness and just now had his first   
taste of raw flesh, demanded more. To the man, however, it was   
obvious that she was just not able to satisfy such desire.   
Slowly, the man brought the beast within under control.  
  
His golden eyes closed and when they opened again, they had   
become a dark blue color. His body seemed to relax, losing much   
of its bulk, though he was still no small man. Finally the claws   
on his fingers and toes, as well as the bone-blades on his   
forearms, retracted. Sighing, he looked himself over. Nodding   
once to himself, he got out of bed.  
  
Or tried to. The woman's hand shot out to grab his hand,   
surprising the man. "Don't even think it, Gohegi," she mumbled   
irritably.  
  
"But Asahi..." he gestured with his other hand toward his   
hair.  
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
"But..." Her eyes shot open, and a singularly unpleasant   
message was conveyed to him, describing all manner of painful   
ways in which he was going to die if he didn't get back into bed   
right this second.  
  
Ah well, he reflected sagely as he crawled back into bed.   
The hardships a man of faith must endure are many and varied.   
Such as they are in any case, he chuckled to himself.   
  
Instinctively, he found the most comfortable spot on her   
body, and laid his head between those pillows of soft pliant   
flesh. Though, as his head bounced off the floor, he noticed   
something was amiss.  
  
Yep, something definitely not right here. She's softer   
than this. AND much more...what? Where? Gohegi quickly moved   
to his feet; his danger sense going into overdrive, and he   
returned to the form of the beast to ready himself for combat.   
His eyes scanned the area almost instantly. He was in the middle   
of a room. Darkness all around, except for a single spotlight   
upon him; no other details were visible. He was the only source   
of sound, and aside from the faint smell of ozone and metal, he   
was the only smell too.  
  
"Welcome, Gohegi!"  
  
He glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of the   
voice, "Who said that?"  
  
"You know...who I am." Mysterious? Actually a bit of   
overacting. Only a bit, however.  
  
He frowned, which was little more than a slight creasing of   
his lips in the downward direction. "Show yourself."  
  
"I have summoned you here for a purpose!"  
  
Despite his annoyance, Gohegi's lips upturned in a slight   
grin, revealing more of his fangs, which glittered in the light,   
"I refuse to keep this going, I hope you realize."  
  
"Oooooohh!!!" the voice complained, "But I was trying to be   
the mysterious head of an elite organization to save the universe   
here!"  
  
"Even though," A door to the left of Gohegi opened, and   
Hishima stepped through with a change of clothes in hand, and   
grin on his face. At least, what Gohegi interpretated to be a   
grin. Hard to tell when his mouth was little more than a   
faceplate, "the mysterious head usually winds up being the real   
enemy in the end."  
  
"Or at least a really dishonorable so and so." Gohegi   
accepted the offered clothing and letting his transformation   
fade. "I mean, they usually wind up," he paused for a moment as   
he pulled the black trousers on, "using their allies and   
creations badly," barely slowing the brown cloak was pulled on,   
and tied around him with the black sash already resident in the   
loops of the coat, "and abusing their sons or daughters   
psychologically." bending down he slipped on the soft brown   
leather sandals, and while tightening the straps he continued,   
"It makes one wonder how the universe even survives the many   
machinations of such individuals."  
  
"At least they often get their heads get bit off by a big   
ass robot. Too bad everyone turns into an orange goo at the   
end." Hishima continued matter-of-factly, "That'll ruin anyone's   
day."  
  
A screen appeared before the two of them, hovering in mid-  
air and somewhat translucent. On it was the face of Yumi, her   
ears down, and eyes tearing as she sniffed quite cutely, "You're   
all so mean! I should turn you into Kappas again!"  
  
Not even trying to restrain themselves, they grinned at   
her, "Kappa! Kappa Kappa!"  
  
That's when she decided to cry at the top of her lungs,   
screaming about how no one appreciated what she was doing, and   
that everyone was so mean to her.  
  
Hishima and Gohegi didn't buy it.  
  
Yumi, noticing their slight chuckles, turned off her flow   
of tears, much like one would turn off a faucet. "You guys really   
are mean!" She growled, "You're supposed to try to console me   
now, damnit!"  
  
Gohegi appeared to consider it for a split second. "I just   
got yanked away from the lady who owns my life. We had just   
finished exchanging certain pleasantries, and I was getting quite   
comfortable where I was." He cocked his head to one side, "I'm   
quite sure, she was as well. She's going to kill me when I get   
home. Or worse...divorce me." A pause, to let the enormity of   
that sink in, "I don't have any sympathy. Even if I am a Monk."  
  
"And you hit me all the time." Hishima added.  
  
"Unappreciative bastards." She smiled suddenly, "I knew I   
picked the right people for this job." A slight chuckle, just   
shy of the evil laugh typical of evil doers everywhere practiced   
in the mirror for at least three hours a day suddenly burst forth   
from Yumi, "Follow Hishima, Gohegi. I'll explain the new   
developments when you get up to the bridge. Yoshou is already up   
here, and we're expecting Minagi shortly. See you there." The   
screen disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving the   
two men in the darkness.  
  
"Don't suppose you'd have any hair clippers handy?" the   
Monk asked.  
  
"I'll get you some in awhile."  
  
"Dark in here." Gohegi noted after a slight pause.  
  
"Yep." Hishima agreed. "Shall we?" Turning, Hishima led   
the way out of the darkness, and into the light.  
  
Gohegi wondered briefly if that would be their fate far   
sooner than he really wanted. "I take it something has happened   
to up the original time-table?"  
  
"Indeed. It's best if you see it for yourself, however."  
  
"I still think we should have involved Tenchi..."  
  
"But you realize, they are far too close to the   
situation...and none of us have enough information to know what   
is really going on. I mean, for all we know, the side he's to be   
on, with good intentions or not, may well not be the right one."  
  
Gohegi nodded, as they walked through the seemingly   
infinite twists and turns of this ship's passageways. "Still,"   
he countered, "He is a man of honor. He deserves better than   
this."  
  
They finally reached what appeared to be a room at the end   
of this long and winding corridor. The door opened as they came   
near, revealing a chamber with standing room for about four or   
five people. "Yes, he does. I just hope the worst-case scenario   
doesn't pan out. Not even Yoshou is certain if that is what has   
happened or not." They both stepped inside, and Hishima hit a   
couple of keys on the left side. The door slid shut, and both   
felt a sudden uplifting movement. "Still, the idea that Tenchi   
could be..."  
  
"I know." Gohegi sighed, expressing the bitterness of his   
thoughts, "Ryouko, that cute girl Sasami..."  
  
"Yes. Them as well." Their eyes had been focused on the   
door of the lift, but now they moved and focused on each other.   
"This," Hishima stated, voicing both their inner thoughts, "is   
frightening shit."  
  
Gohegi nodded yet again. "So tell me," Hishima's eyebrows,   
such as they were, shot up in a silent question, "Why didn't Yumi   
just teleport me directly to the bridge?"  
  
"Probably to allow us this time to speak." Hishima   
clarified.  
  
"Ah."  
  
"That, and..."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well..." Hishima looked away, his hands at his sides,   
fiddling with his own obsidian colored cloak. He almost seemed   
embarrassed. "I think Mistress Yumi really HAS been watching too   
many of the videos Ms. Minagi left here during our various   
meetings." It was Gohegi's turn for his eyebrows to shoot up,   
"You know, a few of the Samurai movies, a few of the giant-mecha   
animes, and even a few magical girl shows. I think she's taking   
this mysterious head of a conspiracy a bit too seriously."  
  
Hishima watched Gohegi look to the ceiling and whisper a   
couple of words of prayer to the patron deity of his order,   
knowing full well that most gods got their kicks out of how much   
hell they could put their followers through before they finally   
achieved whatever it was they set out to do. Which was actually   
a lot better than those gods who loved to spoil their creations.   
Normally those peoples were wiped out of existence by the   
combined effort of the surrounding races due to the abnormally   
high saccharine content of peace and love coming from said star   
system. This usually had the effect of decreasing the cases of   
terminal diabetes in those surrounding systems, which was   
considered to be a good thing. On the down side the insulin   
suppliers really hated it when their market was eviscerated like   
that, but you just can't please everyone.  
  
Gohegi then crossed his arms before him, looked directly at   
Hishima, a slight frown on his face, and asked "So...we're going   
to die then?"  
  
"Yep, we're going to die. It's probably going to hurt a   
lot too."  
  
"Asahi is going to be rather angry with me, I'm afraid."  
  
"Cheer up my friend," Hishima said as the doors opened, "If   
you die, she'll soon meet you to beat your ass for all eternity.   
What more could you want?" Turning he went walked into the   
bridge of the ship, which had been modified to look like a   
technologically advanced version of the war room where the Round   
Table of Camelot resided. Strangely, or perhaps not so   
strangely, this was close to truth of the matter.  
  
Gohegi muttered as he followed Hishima, "But I don't want   
to get my ass beat after dying painfully."  
  
In the chair at the end furthest from him, he saw Yumi hard   
at work pointing things out on the various sized and shaped holo-  
screens to an elderly gentleman in a white gi, and baby-blue   
Hakama. Looking up from the screens he adjusted his glasses and   
waved a greeting at the two who entered.  
  
"Greetings Yoshou!" The elderly gentleman reached out and   
grabbed Gohegi's proffered hand as he came close. "Has our   
hostess not strung you up and verified your freedom of will   
again?"  
  
Yumi looked up from her hyper fast typing, yet not   
stopping, "Keep that up, and I'll string -you- up on general   
principles."  
  
Yoshou's hands seemed to itch toward strangling the furry   
little scientist, "Yes. According to her, I'm still not being   
manipulated against my will for any reason."  
  
"She teased you with a donut again, didn't she." Gohegi   
said after a long moment of watch Yoshou trying to restrain   
himself from doing her bodily harm.  
  
"Yeah, she did." Hishima answered for him. "It was pretty   
pathetic too, seeing a grown man begging for a taste of that   
sweet sugary goodness."  
  
Yoshou twitched again, seeming to want to rend flesh and   
tear bone. And to think this was the serene caretaker of the   
Misaki shrine, but like anyone else...push the right buttons and   
he'd want to maim and destroy...starting with most of the peoples   
of the cosmos. "It is not...pleasant." He growled out. "To be   
made to want something like that, just to see how the mind   
reacts, and that just to see if I am not under the influence of   
anything, but myself. I'd ask that you not ridicule me in this."  
  
Hishima blanched momentarily, "Yes I...I'm sorry. I   
was...trying to make light of it...forgive me." he bowed   
slightly.  
  
"Enough!" All eyes turned toward Yumi. "I assume we have   
all our greetings and jokes...even mine...out of the way?" Her   
eyes roved each of them, noting no dissent and stopping on   
Gohegi, "Good. I know you want answers, and you'll get them.   
Minagi will be here soon. We need to wait for her." She   
gestured around her, "Please, all of you, have a seat."  
  
Each took a chair around the 'Round Table,' shifting and   
moving slightly as the sofa's fit themselves to each and every   
curve of their bodies to optimize comfort and stability.  
  
Funny thing was, precisely fifty-one percent of Sealy   
Posturepedic's stock (that's a controlling percentage) was owned   
and managed by Yumi. The other forty-nine percent was owned by   
one Washuu Hakubi. Nobody really knew why, and to be honest,   
were afraid to ask either of them.  
  
"Don't worry Gohegi. I left a message for your wife,   
telling her that I borrowed you for a bit...oh, don't give me   
that look. C'mon...you look like a drowned rat!"  
  
"She's going to kill me." He slumped down heavily in his   
chair, "Worse...she's going to divorce me for this..."  
  
"Well...if we're successful, or the worst is not the case,   
then she'll be alive to do that. That has to be worth something,   
doesn't it?" Yoshou asked.  
  
"It's the only reason I agreed to this." A glance at Yumi   
when a red blinking light appeared next to her, "Ms. Minagi here   
yet?"  
  
"Actually...no, that's the microwave." She grinned amidst   
the tossed up arms and rolled eyes, "Heh, just kidding. She just   
came out of hyperspace. Give me a moment; I'll bring her over."   
Another small holoscreen appeared next to her, and keying in a   
few sequences on the board of solidified light, a young girl   
appeared in the last of the chairs, her shock of spiked out blue-  
gray hair swirling over her face as she unceremoniously landed on   
her well formed bottom with an 'ooof.'  
  
Scrambling to a more comfortable position she brushed her   
hair behind her, revealing a face that would be the very   
definition of sexy, if it weren't for that innocently petulant   
look on it. Her cheeks sported a single hash mark on both sides;   
her eyes were piercing, golden, and quite cat-like. With a huff   
she straightened out her white bodysuit with the red trim, not   
for a second releasing her gaze which had settled into what could   
only be described as a 'cute' glare.  
  
"Something vexing you, Minagi?"  
  
"How many times have I asked you to be more careful when   
you teleport me Yumi?"  
  
Yumi tapped one button causing all her current screens to   
vanish, "It's no fun that way. In any event..." she gestured,   
and the bridge went completely dark, except for a solar chart   
that appeared above the table casting a luminescence that just   
barely highlighted everyone's features. It was a single yellow   
star. Five planets orbited it, each world having anywhere from   
one to half a dozen moons in any range of sizes. "This is the   
Sentinel Prime system. One of the systems outlying the Youma   
protectorate," the three outer worlds were magnified and lit up   
as Yumi pointed to each, "Primus, Prima, and Prime Nova. These   
were the inhabited worlds of this system."  
  
"They're beautiful." Minagi breathed.  
  
"Indeed, they -were- beautiful," she corrected.  
  
"Were?" Gohegi asked.  
  
Yumi nodded, "Yes. As of the early morning, galactic   
standard time, this is what happened."  
  
The planets shrunk down and took their normal places in the   
hologram, but what happened next, none of them were prepared for.   
The sun suddenly flashed so bright, all but Yumi (who had put on   
a darkened visor) had been forced to turn away from the scene.   
When it finally cleared enough so that they might see again, they   
watched the atomized remnants of the system gather together once   
again. Instead of creating another stellar mass however, they   
seemed be drawn inside of a hole of nothing where once the core   
of the star resided. Within minutes nothing remained.  
  
Yoshou was the first to speak after a long pause,   
"So...what just happened?" He remembered immediately after his   
question, whom it was he was talking to, and what she would   
likely say if he didn't add, "Other than its annihilation of   
course."  
  
She seemed mildly disappointed she didn't get to answer   
with the obvious quip, but she did begin to explain. "Well,   
actually it's more like what you didn't see here. This is only   
what is known to the Galaxy Police and your mot...err..."  
  
"Go ahead and say it." Yoshou said, "We all know what she   
really is." Everyone tried unsuccessfully to stifle a snicker.  
  
"Anyway," she continued between giggles, "Heh, and your   
mother, Yoshou." She produced a glass of water from thin air,   
took a drink, and sent it back to whatever subspace pocket she   
pulled it from, "What I know is this: These planets were dead   
before this happened." Her gathering looked suitably puzzled,   
"Drained. All life energy sucked away and taken elsewhere." A   
chart, showing wavelengths and energy patterns appeared in place   
of the now nonexistent solar system. "I'm sure you can all   
recognize this pattern. It was what the life-force power was   
sent out as."  
  
Minagi and Yoshou murmured a few choice words to   
themselves; Gohegi did as well, but also had a few things that   
occurred to him. "So why blow up the whole system if that was   
already taken? Why take life energy to begin with? Why would   
the third one need it?"  
  
"Yes, and why the Youma?" Minagi added.  
  
"I have a few theories," Yumi chuckled without humor, "but   
I'm afraid I have no way to confirm them. After all Minagi, your   
father's files, while quite enlightening, were a tad short on the   
specifics. But then, how would he know? This recent development   
has forced us to up the timetable. We have to find out what's   
going on, and right now. Before that happens to someone we care   
about, be it intentional or not." She hesitated for a moment,   
her long ears twitching madly, "Also, a few days ago I came   
across, or should I say, tracked down something that might give   
us the answers we need. I was hoping for more time, but..." She   
began to fiddle with her clothing and mutter to herself.  
  
"Judging by your tone, Ms. Yumi, this is not something that   
you are all that certain about." Yoshou observed, stating what   
was obvious to all, "But if it will help us to shed light on what   
is happening, would it not be better to find out now, rather than   
when it's too late?"  
  
"Yes. However..." she floundered, "Damnit! Hishima,   
c'mon! We'll show them, then they'll understand!"  
  
He rose from his chair and inclined his head, "Of course   
Mistress Yumi." Taking his cue from her, he mentally activated a   
teleportation sequence to move the group from the bridge to one   
of the many labs within this vessel.  
  
This one was a large and well lit perfectly square room.   
Panels and blinking lights decorated all four walls, yet the   
sound made in this room was practically nonexistent, save for   
that which the recent arrivals made. The thing that stood out   
most about this place was the black cylinder in the center of the   
room. It was a bit larger than a tall man, and had wires and   
tubes running all along it's outer edge. Despite the neatness of   
the cabling in general, it was quite obvious with all the   
adapting connectors and even some welding beads; Yumi had just   
recently attached this thing directly to her equipment in this   
room.  
  
"Now...I'm going to let Hishima open this thing so you can   
see who's in it. I'm sure most of you recognize this as some   
sort of stasis pod, albeit, more advanced than anything you've   
likely ever seen before. I'm going to ask...that whatever you   
see, you stay in control of yourselves. Believe me, if you think   
you're prepared for what this is, you are wrong in the worst   
way." With that she nodded once to Hishima, who had already   
taken position beside the capsule. He touched a single button on   
the makeshift console that connected to the container and stepped   
away to clear the view. The front of the stasis pod began to   
open slowly. Inside was a clear tube filled with a gold liquid,   
which bubbled and moved around the wires and tubes attached to...  
  
Metallica - The Call of Kthulu  
  
"Fucking..." Gohegi transformed, shredding the sleeves of   
his robe as the blades on his forearms popped out. With a   
frustrated jerk, he pulled the remainder of the garment off his   
body.   
  
Neither Minagi nor Yoshou had made a sound, yet their   
movements were faster than thought. Yoshou stood at the ready, a   
wooden pommel adorned by two red gems in his hands. Pure blue   
energy formed the blade of this sword. Minagi had pulled a more   
traditional sword from subspace with her left hand and formed a   
blade of crimson energy in her right.  
  
"Be at ease. He is not yet awake, nor will he wake until   
we wish it to be so." Hishima explained in the most soothing   
voice he could muster.  
  
This seemed to placate Minagi and Yoshou who promptly   
disarmed, but not Gohegi. "What is THAT doing here?!" he   
demanded. "Do you realize who that is?! What he has done?!"  
  
"Yes," Yumi answered simply. "And then some."  
  
"And you haven't destroyed him yet?!"  
  
"No."  
  
An aura of blue energy sprang up around Gohegi, his normal   
serene demeanor lost; rage taking its place. "Why?" He asked   
putting the kind of hatred in that question that has been   
responsible for the genocide of whole galaxies, right down to the   
last little subatomic microbe.  
  
"He probably has the answers we seek. And if you'd calm   
yourself and THINK about it, I'm sure you'd realize why." Yumi   
looked at him in pity, "Listen, I know what he did, to your   
people especially Gohegi, but I'm pretty sure we're going to NEED   
him. Whatever the information he has, we'll know more than we   
did before. Maybe enough so we'll know how to keep your new   
family safe! And if he has none...well, it will be an easy   
enough thing to kill him. Believe me, I would not release THAT   
if I didn't already have some controls in place. Not the least   
of which is you, me, Hishima, Minagi, and Yoshou there!"  
  
Gohegi relaxed, but did not lose his scowl, "He should be   
dead. Why isn't he dead?"  
  
"Yeah right. Like he, of all beings in the cosmos,   
wouldn't have prepared for something like that. I'm just   
surprised no one else went looking for his backup plan." Yumi   
shook her head and muttered something about stupid and smart   
people to herself, "This is the kind of thing that gets the   
heroes of stories killed later on. Good thing for them, there   
are geniuses like me who refuse to take things for granted."  
  
"So are you going to revive him, or are we going to sit   
here and discuss our feelings on the subject? Believe me, I'm   
not too thrilled with this either, but the clock is ticking."   
Minagi pointed out.  
  
Everyone turned toward Yoshou, "What? The choice is clear.   
Find out what he knows, and if it's nothing, kill him, and   
continue on as before. If it's something, we get it out of him,   
and figure out what we'll do with him later."  
  
Then everyone turned back to Gohegi, whose face continued   
to darken as it looked on at the pod. Still he thought, if he   
has any information, any at all...to keep my beloved safe I'd   
deal with the Devil, himself. It looks like that is exactly what   
I'm going to have to do. "Do it," he said finally.  
  
Yumi nodded toward Hishima again. As before he touched a   
single button on the same control panel. This time the behind   
the tube's translucent inner casing, the gold fluid began to   
bubble violently as it drained out. Activity was seen on various   
holoscreens that sprung up around Yumi, which registered   
increasing vital signs such as heartbeat, breathing, brainwave   
activity, and others that only had meaning to her. The tube   
split down the center and pulled away at the sides with a   
mechanical hiss; the ever widening crack spitting out steam and   
excess fluid. Human hands clutched at the seams, steadying the   
rest of the body they were attached to. On wobbly legs, he pulled   
himself out of the pod, nearly slipping and falling to the floor.  
  
Not one of them lifted a finger to help him. He pulled   
his long green hair to the side, and gave a friendly grin to each   
and every person there.  
  
"Well well..." he managed to croak out. Chuckling slightly   
he reached out and pulled very small specs from nothing and put   
them on the bridge of his nose where they rested comfortably,   
"Look at all those who came to see the resurrection of Kagato.   
How utterly..." sharks couldn't smile this wide, "amusing."  
  
End Theme – Van Halen – Dreams  



	4. Conversations in a Bar

Eternal Heavens  
  
Disclaimer: I'm poor so don't bother suing. I only own my original   
characters. Hell, I don't even own some of them, heh. I don't own any   
Tenchi characters. To be honest I can't afford them, though I think I'm   
handling them better than AIC is. _  
  
Authors Forward: Greedo did not shoot first.  
  
Now I'll beg for C PLEASE OH PLEASE CORRECT ME!!! ^_^ I'm at   
kthardin@yahoo.com so feel free! ^_^  
  
Gathering of the Children  
-Conversations in a Bar  
  
Opening Theme: Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns and Roses  
  
Doors of steel and tritanium swung wide with a creak, and swung   
shut with a slam as doors are generally wont to do. Between these   
actions a man of some considerable bulk but not of considerable height   
walked through. Accompanying him, was a quick, yet powerful, gust of   
wind and sand that blew in with him, and only had the effect of moving   
the air in the establishment around a bit. Once it settled, the man   
pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal a shock of white hair that   
spiked up in individual locks, going straight up and back in direction.   
Then, amidst the cheesy music that played in the background and the   
fragrant, opaque smoke that hung in the air, he made his way to the   
source of the cheesy music and kicked it.  
  
Once.  
  
The pink looking mass that had been masquerading as saxophone   
player oozed out of the indention he made into the wall and limped to the   
nearest exit. The man who had kicked the musician turned his attention   
to the jukebox beside the large impression left by the artist formerly   
known to play there, and slid a few coins into it. After paging through   
a few of the selections the man punched in a few numbers. His choices   
made, he walked to one of the seats on the bench at the main bar.   
Strange, that in a place where there were more than a few beings   
standing, sliding, and going about their business; this one single stool   
was left untouched until he sat in it.  
  
Everybody Knows - Concrete Blond  
  
He pointed in the spot directly before him on the bar when the   
hairy blob behind the table goggled its eyes in his direction.  
  
"The usual?" it burbled out. It looked about itself at the vast   
lake of green bubbly liquid that encompassed the entirety of the cosmos,   
nearly drowning in its depths. "Right," it affirmed in disgust, "All you   
want. Don't see how you bipeds drink this stuff."  
  
"Thanks," the man muttered as the bartender slid away to get his   
order. Sighing deeply, he pushed his sunglasses back up the bridge of   
his nose, and fished out a couple of golden metal strips from his pocket.   
He set them on the table, just as the bartender slithered back with a   
clear pitcher of the bubbling green liquid and a glass in its tentacles.  
  
The man pushed the strips toward it as it set the pitcher and glass   
down in front of the man. A couple of other tentacles snaked out from   
its girth and picked up the proffered payment before it shuffled away to   
wait on another customer.  
  
Forgoing the glass, the man raised the pitcher to his lips and took   
a long drink, somehow not spilling a drop. He wiped his lips on the cuff   
of his sleeve and turned in his chair letting his eyes rove the other   
patrons of the bar.  
  
Over in the far corner he watched a horned humanoid bargain with   
one of the local purveyors of the pleasures of the flesh. Too bad that   
particular one was a predator, and would eat her meat after she was done   
screwing with it; t'was far more than that poor bastard was haggling for,   
in any event. The spiked-haired one raised his drink in toast to the   
last night of that mans life.  
  
At his right, a green skinned...something...slumped over the light   
rod at his table; a burning laser wound smoking from his back only added   
to the rank smell and smoke within the bar. The guy in the white shirt   
and black vest who had put that hole in him apologized to the bartender   
and tossed him a few coins to pay for the clean up. Fortunately, lasers   
cauterize, so only thing that needed done was removal of the body. Or   
maybe they'd let one of the locals eat it.  
  
A fight broke out to his right as he took another drink. The glass   
and other debris that were kicked up flew over him, hardly disturbing his   
hair, even spiked up as it was. The fight, however, moved a bit too   
close, which endangered the peaceful consumption of the bubbling green   
goodness he was currently slurping. This, of course, could not be   
tolerated. Thus, he slapped both of the combatants into the wall next to   
the impression left by the unfortunate musician.  
  
No one else in the establishment gave it a moment's notice. Not   
even the humanoid that had just walked in, and was nearly hit by one of   
the flying bodies.  
  
The man with the spiked white hair at the bar pulled his glasses   
down a fraction of an inch to study the newcomer over the brim. The eyes   
behind those tinted lenses revealed the flashing and swirling of the   
million million lights of a universe reflected back. It was hard for him   
to tell a gender, or even a distinct profile for the newcomer, as the   
features shifted and changed without any rhyme or reason. The only thing   
that seemed static were the eyes, which were colored in a solid rainbow   
pattern. The newcomer walked directly toward the one at the main bar,   
the beings melting out of his way as he walked.  
  
"Fuck," the one with the spiked white hair moaned in resignation as   
he slid his glasses back up. He twisted the bar stool around, buried his   
face in his arms on the bar table, and hoped the one with the rainbow   
colored eyes would go away.  
  
Hoping in vain. "This seat taken?" The newcomer looked at the gun   
he was holding to the head of the white haired man, and shook his head as   
he tossed it away. The white haired man picked up the discarded firearm   
and pasted the glasses of drink behind them with his brains.  
  
"You realize, if one were to stop to consider the ramifications of   
your dislike of me, there could be all sorts of questions concerning both   
our sanities."  
  
The white haired one flipped his unwanted companion off as he bled   
on the ground from the hole that most of his grey matter had been   
forcibly pushed out of. "Fuck off." He took a drink from his refilled   
pitcher of the bubbly green liquid and studiously tried to ignore the   
woman sitting next to him.  
  
"Is that what you want?" She asked huskily as she put her arms   
around the man who refused to acknowledge her nubile form around his.   
"Is that what you need?" The wind whipped through her hair as she pulled   
the man around to face her. Her hands began to burn through the man as   
they sensually caressed his white beard, moving down his chest, and...  
  
"That's enough!" He held the woman at bay; his baleful stare quite   
literally sparkling with red energy behind his dark glasses. Quite the   
contrast that the man he was holding looked at him only in amusement.   
"Say what you have to, then leave!"  
  
The dark-haired man adjusted his cloak around him when the breeze   
moved it out of place when he looked over the side large cliff, and had   
to fight a wave of vertigo, when looking down. Its darkness was   
impregnable...impenetrable. Suddenly two eyes opened in that baleful   
darkness glowing a sooty red color. The white haired one took a sip of   
his bubbly green stuff and gave the other man a look that said, "Yeah.   
So what?"  
  
"Just thought you needed a reminder."  
  
The white haired one glared at her, "I thought you of all beings,   
would be beyond something so simple," the woman looked around at the   
darkness that flew from the void at the bottom of the cliff. The   
darkness that spoke to her in such a voice that would shatter whole   
worlds in fear, "After all, this is as valid a way to be as any other,"   
the darkness laughed. The woman could only smile back.  
  
She ordered the same thing he was drinking. Taking a sip, she   
gasped, "Gaa, how do you drink this stuff?"  
  
"Mountain Dew?" he looked at her puzzled, "Can't go wrong with   
Dew."  
  
"I suppose I should really modify the body I use accordingly." She   
raised her glass in toast, "To your future."  
  
Book of Days - Enya  
  
The one with the spiked white hair looked at the other sideways   
before having the bartender fill his pitcher. He sighed as he traveled   
the road he had been on for so long. Behind him laid his life in all its   
ugly glory, but before him lay a road that branched off into an infinite   
number of forks into the spiraling abyss of the cosmos. Even gods would   
look upon this and see just how small they really were in comparison. He   
took a step forward onto one of the paths, and the roads shifted and   
changed; yet they remained infinite.  
  
"That's true," he said, rainbow colored eyes flashing, "Where are   
you going?"  
  
"Me?" The white haired one considered it for at least a minute,   
"Shit, I figured I'd go over there and torture myself with an N'sync   
song. With you talking, and it playing, that might be the most   
excruciating thing which could be imagined."  
  
She hefted her coiled whip and licked its edge slowly down its   
length. She savored the fear she felt from her captive who was held by   
thick chains and manacles in her dungeon. His severely muscled body   
strained taught in his futile efforts to break free. Sweat dripped from   
every pore, and she paused to savor its taste on his body. Then she   
stepped back, and let the whip uncoil to the floor.  
  
"Amateur."  
  
She looked at her caged submissive, whose rock hard gaze of fury   
honestly didn't look all that submissive, and frowned at his shear   
audacity to speak.  
  
"Didn't I tell you to make your point? There is no way that could   
be all of it."  
  
She slammed her mug down hard. "No. That was not it," she huffed.   
"You are neglecting your responsibilities!"  
  
He picked up a can of Dew from his six-pack chilling in the   
seawater on the beach. He hummed to himself in a tuneless, yet rhythmic   
melody as the sun began to sink in the waves of the sea; casting colors   
of pink and gold across the sky and beyond into the seas of eternity. A   
deep base note spoke across the universe as the sun finally disappeared   
from the horizon; so ended another day, and so began another night.   
"It's a big universe, and there are plenty of us." He leaned back on the   
bar and pulled a cigarette from nowhere and popped it in his mouth.   
"Find someone else," he muttered and flicked the end of the smoke with   
his finger, lighting it.  
  
"I know SHE did," the rainbow eyed one said offhandedly. The white   
haired one simply continued to smoke, the only reaction to her statement   
being a slight tightening around his eyes. "Can't say as I blame her   
either. After all, you left her, didn't you?" He turned away from the   
white haired one in the void of darkness about them. "Business as usual   
for her though. Everyone she's ever known has left her at one point or   
another. Hell, even her first son has finally died."  
  
"You mean her only son," he corrected.  
  
The one with the rainbow eyes only shook his head, "No, I mean her   
first son. Oh," she paused, "but you didn't know that, did you?"  
  
His hands stretched out in the void to touch a being of luminous   
blue energy, whose own hands reached out for him. They moved closer, and   
closer as a strange symphony that seemed to communicate the longing of   
their souls resonated between them and across all things. He could   
almost see the definitions of the being, almost that of a woman when they   
finally touched. Yet then her hands slid from his before he could grasp   
their radiant warmth; and she vanished from his sight, the orchestra   
falling silent.  
  
He could only ask, "Why?"  
  
"Ask her yourself. Find out yourself. It doesn't work that   
easily; you know that." He drank the final dregs of her drink, and rose   
from her seat. "Oh well, places to go, things to see, people to confuse,   
and that sort of thing." Smiling, she ruffled the white haired one's   
tresses on his way out.  
  
If one could have seen behind the white haired one's sunglasses,   
one could have seen his eyes clenched together as something unfathomable;   
but regardless, quite painful, raged through him. He ground out his   
cigarette on the bar.  
  
"I'm leaving now," he told the bartender, "Make sure my change is   
credited back to my account this time or I'll tie you up and make you   
listen to Barney songs for a year."  
  
"Of course." it agreed quickly, "But if I might ask..?" He turned   
toward the bartender, "Well, umm...who was that you were talking to?"   
Its only answer was a laugh; a laugh that continued on his way out of the   
cantina, and well into the night.  
  
---------------------------  
  
"If that doesn't do it, nothing will," she pronounced.  
  
The rainbow-eyed one's companion gazed at him with his one good eye   
for some time. He knew that what had just been said to the white haired   
one had needed said, but...  
  
"He won't stop what he's doing."  
  
The one with the rainbow colored eyes looked about at the stars   
around her, "Stopping him is not the point. Nothing can stop him now.   
Only uniting him with the other do we stand a chance of survival.   
Together, they are our last hope."  
  
"No." He answered quickly, "There is another."  
  
"She is but a child; her time has not yet come." He reminded the   
one-eyed man, "She will have her own hands full with what is approaching.   
A different part to play. You know we can't rely on her for that." She   
sighed in regret, casually plucking a comet out of the sky, "If only   
there were more time."  
  
"Heh, strange that you would talk of Time." The one-eyed ones   
amusement seemed not to break the somber mood surrounding them, however.   
"Too bad we can't just...no, that's not the kind of time we need."  
  
He twisted the comet back and forth in her hands before finally   
letting it go back on its way. Its delay was enough so that hundreds of   
astrophysicists of the surrounding systems to wonder why their time   
tables for its orbit was so off for that year and all following. "I must   
continue now. There are other matters to attend to."  
  
The one-eyed one nodded his head in agreement, "And those that I   
must attend to as well," he watched his companion fade away into the   
background and thought to himself, he'll do what needs done.  
  
As must we all.  
  
----------  
  
The man with the white spiked hair seemed to flow from the air as   
he appeared on the bridge of his starship. Glancing about its exterior,   
his eyes finally settled on the view screen before him. He barely noted   
the presence that had flown down from ceiling and settled on his   
shoulder. At least not until its long serpentine neck craned around into   
his field of vision.  
  
"Drakhenn," he addressed the creature, which cocked its head to   
listen, "I need you to contact the Youma. Finalize the deal with them   
immediately. We'll make delivery at the end of the galactic standard   
week." The little drake opened his wings, and gracefully dove from his   
perch to glide over to a computer terminal that seemed specifically   
designed to handle his small frame. It started punching the buttons on   
the console as soon as it settled down in its seat.  
  
The man sank down heavily into a chair that had flowed from the   
floor, and fit itself perfectly to the contours of his body; the Sealy   
Posturpedic sales sticker had not yet been removed from its left side.   
His eyes had never wavered from the screen at the forward part of the   
room.  
  
"Ranger," the screen blinked on, "It's time to end it."  
  
And then what, oh high and mighty lord and master? the ship   
printed out on the screen.  
  
His hands stretched forth and grasped the perfect sphere of his   
ship, and crushed it. Its explosion could be seen for light-years in   
every direction; its fiery death serving to light the party that was   
being held over the universe in celebration over the death of a truly   
annoying individual. "We go find a few people."  
  
I take it we are returning to work?  
  
With a defeated sigh, he pulled out an already lit cigarette and   
took a long, slow, and sad drag from it. "Just when I thought I was   
finally out, they pull me back in."  
  
Ending theme - Dreams - Van Halen  
  
To any and all who have just read this fic: given that most of you will   
have been confused with how it is written in the first two or three   
seconds of reading, I will attempt to explain what is going on. The   
method of communication between the two main characters above, as well as   
a few thoughts and actions, are the results of them being creatures   
beyond a few of our limitations. In this case, they use reality itself   
to communicate thoughts, ideas, and expound on others that were stated in   
a more conventional way. If you pay attention, you'll note how reality   
shifts and changes. This is business as usual for them, and is no cause   
for alarm as far as the fic is concerned. On the other hand, any   
problems with reality you have are yours and yours alone. ^_^  



	5. Unknown Conflict

Eternal Heavens  
  
Disclaimer: I'm poor, so don't bother sueing. I only own my   
original characters. Hell, I don't even own some of them, heh.   
I don't own any of the Tenchi, Pretty Sami, Tenchi Universe, or   
Shin Tenchi characters that might make an appearance since AIC   
laid them off. ^_^  
  
Authors Forward: The Lord Of Destruction kicked ass!   
  
I'd like to thank Sethra first off for her initial preread of   
this chapter, as well as various others who've added their input   
(and characters). And I'd also like to beg and beg shamelessly   
for C&C of any type, oh PLEASE! Please FFML! I BEG OF YOU! _   
_ Anyway, before I get my ass killed by certain Mechanoids for   
gimmick infringement, I'd really like to point you to my email   
addy: kthardin@yahoo.com so you can drop me a line and tell me   
how really bad and terrible my fanfiction is if you really want   
to (oh please?) ^_^  
  
Gathering of the Children  
-Unknown Conflict  
  
Opening Theme - Sweet Child o Mine - Guns and Roses  
  
Excalibur - Richard Wagner  
  
He walked with the weight of several lifetimes bearing him   
down. He'd seen countless battles in his time. He'd fought in   
wars that had stretched from one end of his galaxy to the other   
when his people were first establishing their place in the great   
wheel of the universe. His fighting skills in the family he   
hailed from were unmatched, save by his Lord, his Lady, and their   
children. Because of his great experience and even greater   
power, he had been given the great honor of instructing   
generations of nobles from the family he served, until it was   
time to for them to take their place in The Empire.  
  
Because of this, it was he who was given the awesome task   
to deliver the ultimatum.   
  
The man exited the gates of the fortress carved within the   
tallest of the peaks and looked about him at the range of snow   
covered mountains and deep, seemingly bottomless, canyons that   
all served as home for the family he was sworn to protect. The   
Y'tack, an honorable and noble family stretching back into the   
time before recorded history, when the clans of the Tetran were   
young and struggling to survive on their homeworld. And   
this...this was their very heart. Here the Lord and his Lady   
resided with their children who would have one day grown up to   
inherit the vast resources of their family.  
  
It would be a miracle if they survived this day, he knew.   
As the gates closed behind him, he looked back half in surprise,   
and half in relief that they had done this. Now he could only   
turn back, and resign himself to facing this destiny; hoping   
those gates would hold back the darkness that rushed to face   
them. If only for a little while.  
  
So far the lone figure standing only meters away, who was   
dressed in clothing that was so black it seemed to suck at the   
very reality around him, had not moved. The being had just stood   
there since delivering a fateful proclamation and subsequent act   
of terminating all communications and traffic out of the Y'tack   
star system. But if that lone figure made good on the threat   
given....  
  
"Cyraqs," he sighed, wondering who the hell he was kidding.  
  
All of it was true. All the rumors and legends that their   
race used to scare each their children into submission, and   
frighten each other at night. Something had unleashed the only   
thing those of the Tetran empire feared more than the Emperor   
himself.  
  
What could it have possibly been to set off this   
monstrosity?   
  
The being before the herald quirked a little grin and   
looked at him over the top of sunglasses which revealed eyes of   
infinite space and starry skies. He looked upon those strange   
cold eyes, and knew right then just how small and insignificant   
he really was in comparison to what was represented before him.  
  
A light snow began to fall, obscuring the being's hair that   
was snow white, spiked up, and curled straight backward though   
kept rather short. This was odd, as most who sported such hair   
tended to curl either toward the left or the right. Not in this   
case, but then why should normal rules apply when nothing else   
did to this nightmare brought to life before the man.  
  
Even this being's physical size was a contradiction. What   
the herald was looking at should have been gigantic...bigger than   
a whole quasar and monstrous beyond all sanity. Not this   
unassuming barely five foot tall humanoid.  
  
The man took a deep breath, and prayed to the great lady   
who pulled their race out nonexistence and raised them to   
sentience. He had never done so before, but it was the only   
comfort he could find now before he did what he knew he must.  
  
"Mad One! The Family of Y'tack has existed since our race   
came to be, and you'll not destroy us now! Remove your foul   
presence from our Star System and withdraw your blockade! For we   
will fight you to the death of every single one of us here! And   
when this day comes to an end, it will be you, not us, that will   
no longer be!"  
  
"Enough," the Mad One whispered. Yet the force that word   
carried shattered the herald's eardrums, echoing over the world   
and into the stars beyond.  
  
Not one bit of snow or rock moved.  
  
The man who was the herald of the terms to the Mad One fell   
to his knees clutching his slightly elongated ears, blood seeping   
between his fingers. The Mad One actually waited 'til the herald   
regained his feet and his eardrums had repaired themselves before   
he spoke again. Not that the herald was expecting to have   
survived, but then that was why this being -this dark god- was   
called the Mad One. You never knew.  
  
"I shall take your position...into consideration."  
  
He almost sounded...sincere. In fact the Mad One looked to   
be mulling it over with himself, talking to who-knew-what-force   
raged chaotically in whatever it was that passed for his mind.  
  
The snow stopped falling when the Mad One looked up again.   
The wind, in fact all motion and sound had ceased. The herald   
dared hope that they were to be spared when the Mad One smiled at   
him suddenly.  
  
The herald's shadow was permanently blasted into the   
mountain that he had once been standing on.  
  
"Well, it appears your terms...are not acceptable," he   
chuckled softly, ever increasing in intensity until he was   
laughing uncontrollably.  
  
Still laughing the Mad One raised his hand.  
  
Everything went white.  
  
  
  
-----------------  
  
  
  
BGM - Enigma - MCMXC A.D.  
  
  
  
Waking up, after a period of prolonged hibernation is   
generally a jarring, disorientating experience. The mind has   
trouble shifting gears from processing information from the realm   
of the subconscious to that of the conscious in the amount of   
time given for this transition. Confusion results, as one minute   
the person in question might have been making love with the most   
awesome goddess the cosmos had ever created. The next, the   
person is holding their pillow, wondering why they feel oddly   
satisfied, yet wet and sticky between their legs. Confusion   
subsides, reality sets in...then they look over and realize it   
wasn't a pillow they were holding, but someone they met at the   
bar last night. And unfortunately they had the beer goggles on,   
because DAMN! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?  
  
Truly the god of alcohol has an odd sense of humor.  
  
Still, as disconcerting as that would be, Kiyone would have   
preferred something of that nature compared to the mind trip she   
was experiencing after her prolonged trip through hyperspace.  
  
"Two days?" she asked herself once her balance returned   
somewhat. She checked the chronometer on the portable scanner   
strapped to her wrist a second time just to be sure. "Ugh. Two   
days."  
  
She hated that. She so hated her current hyperspace travel   
abilities. They were as much a curse as a blessing to her   
present state of being. True, she was far faster than even the   
most advanced of the Galaxy Police ships, even Mihoshi's ship the   
Yagami and her brother's ship the Midorishu. However, the   
queasiness and disorientation she experienced shifting to the   
state of energy required for hyperspace travel was not   
comfortable to say the least. Coming out of hyperspace was far   
worse.  
  
She shook what passed for her head quickly, trying to shake   
out the vestiges of her vertigo.   
  
"I have got to figure out how to quit doing this!"  
  
The lab techs assured her she'd likely get used to the fact   
her mind slipped into a different state of existence while   
traveling through that other dimension. In truth that part   
didn't bug her so much. What caused her this amount of   
discomfort was when she arrived at her destination. She   
automatically ejected herself from hyperspace, converted her   
energy back to its original form, and shifted her consciousness   
back to the state in which she used for analytical thought   
processes. All at once, no time to adjust.  
  
This hurt. A lot.  
  
She glanced back at the scanner on her wrist, and noted it   
was still on the last page of the Quantum Destabilizer's user   
manual. She'd actually managed to read its entirety before she   
'fell asleep' in hyperspace, while absently wondering why   
everything had to have a set of instructions that read in the   
most monotone and lackluster way imaginable. Rather like the   
teacher she and Seion had when they were in midschool.  
  
A grin crossed her face when she remembered him for a   
fleeting instant; recalling what a truly useless individual that   
particular educator was.  
  
She waved her hand once over the scanner, and a small solid-  
light control panel appeared above it. Tapping a couple of   
buttons, a map of the star system she was presently floating   
opened up above the panel, with a red dot blinking in the   
unmistakable manner of 'you are here, moron!'  
  
Something occurred to her. "What star system is this?"   
She grinned as names were added to the five planets of the system   
as well as the medium sized yellow star they were orbiting.   
"Seion, I could kiss you!"  
  
The scanner had the capability of picking up and   
interpreting the low level radio waves she was speaking with   
while in the cold depths of space. It had been an easy fix to   
the software, but most scanners still hadn't been upgraded with   
the ability to interpret her 'voice' in space as anything other   
than background radio noise. Seion had obviously remembered to   
do this for her...it had completely slipped her mind. She   
frowned at that, but it wasn't like it was a necessity she had   
forgotten, only a convenience. After all, the thing still had   
buttons that could be pushed.  
  
She groaned a bit when a wave of weakness washed over her   
suddenly and her green radiance dimmed in response.  
  
"Mmmm...yeah, I guess I used up a bit of energy going all   
the way across the galaxy." She chuckled and looked toward the   
star of this system. "Ah...Sentinel Prime. You'll do."   
  
Kiyone unstrapped the scanner from her wrist, and unbuckled   
the pack around her shoulders and waist. Then, using a small   
amount of her power, she moved it a few feet away and prevented   
the pack from drifting further. The woman of green energy wasted   
no time in stretching out as if to embrace the light streaming   
toward her. Immediately points of emerald light began shimmering   
all over her...around her...in her glittering and twinkling in   
patterns all their own.  
  
"Mmm...yummy!"  
  
Some used to go to the beach to get a tan. Now she'd go to   
get a bite to eat.  
  
Odd that.  
  
------------  
  
Seion walked through the double doors of the Section X's   
hangar bay - Level Twelve. Hardly noting the Space Craft of   
various design docked around him, he made his way to the back end   
where he knew his ship, the Midorishu, resided. Hopefully she   
wasn't busy with one of her...pursuits. She would be a total   
bitch for days afterwards...or at least 'til she could find a   
nice new computer to...  
  
"Gd'Ay Mate!"  
  
His thoughts interrupted, Seion took note of the mammalian   
biped, which spoke from a perch atop his ship. Without further   
ado it jumped from the top of Midori and landed right in front of   
the worried teal haired spy for a more. Aside from his utility   
jacket, it was dressed only in its fur, which was presently   
covered in grease and other more exotic lubricants.  
  
"I'd shake yer hand, but I doubt ya'd really want to be   
covered in all the muck I've been wading through...crimeny! That   
shit reeks!"  
  
Seion shrugged, "Hey, you're the best there is at this,   
Wallabee. You probably get paid more than I do. What the hell   
are you complaining about?"  
  
Wallabee considered that while he scratched his muzzle with   
the impact hammer he'd been carrying. This only served to add a   
few more stripes of muck to his face.  
  
"Aye Mate, I do at that," he finally agreed. "But what   
good does it do me, if I'm sucking ex'aust from warp cores all   
the freaking time, eh?"  
  
"Not too much."  
  
"And then ya just got to come down here and rub in the fact   
that yer fucking tha big boss..."  
  
"Is she ready?" Seion interrupted.  
  
"Keep yer pants on, mate. You know she's ALWAYS ready."   
Wallabee chuckled as Seion leveled him a sidelong knowing smirk,   
"Don't worry. She's ready to fly far and fast. Hopefully fast   
enough to keep the Major's cute butt from getting fried before   
her time is up."  
  
"I wouldn't be so worried if her old partner were with   
her," Seion told him, "but since she's here at Section X and   
Mihoshi's been assigned to the wayward children of the Jurai   
Royal Family..."  
  
Wallabee nodded in understanding, "Aye, it's not often you   
get your own..." Seion glanced at him a slight warning in his   
eyes, "...devoted friend," Seion rolled his eyes while Wallabee   
winked, "to look after you."  
  
"Right. Devoted friend. You're going to get me in trouble   
with the powers that be yet Wallabee."  
  
The furred mechanic bowed, the motion for which started   
where his hips connected to his legs, which were far better   
suited for jumping, and causing his entire upper body to pivot   
toward the ground. "Always aiming to please, mate. Anyway, you   
best get going. The Chief's waiting for ya too."  
  
Seion turned and sighed, "Great. Just great. Thanks..."   
Seion watched the furry mechanic jump over him and then land on   
top of another ship in the hangar "...Wallabee. Fucking Roo."  
  
I Want Your Sex - George Michael  
  
He crossed the remaining distance to the Midorishu, noting   
that indeed, the Chief was waiting for him, an amused smirk on   
her pretty face.  
  
"Chief! What can I do you for?"  
  
She gave him a once over with her eyes, "You? Shit boy!   
You're someone else's property at the moment. I don't dare do   
what I'd LIKE to do with you now."  
  
Seion groaned and rubbed his head, "Does everyone around   
here know about that?"  
  
"You forget where you are."  
  
Actually he hadn't, but was truly hoping that certain   
details had not gotten out. But did whoever find out have to   
spread it to EVERYONE!? Even Wallabee, the guy who, in his own   
words, had his head constantly in a warp core, knew!  
  
"Can we just get this over with? Kiyone's going to be   
going soon and..."  
  
"You're the one who became her top man, Major." He ignored   
what she was implying and tried to move past her. She moved   
quickly to impede him. "Ah, Seion, you have no idea how much   
trouble you cause me do you?"  
  
Seion picked her up, and moved her from in front of his   
ship's entrance. Quickly he walked up, and turned back, not   
being able to resist a final parting shot as he closed the door,   
"You're her favorite cousin Ramia, I was ordered to give you a   
hard time."  
  
Her eyes twinkling merrily she asked, "As hard as you're   
giving her?" If only he could have heard it.  
  
Inside the ship, he made his way to the bridge.   
"Midorishu!" He called. "Midori!"  
  
"Mmmm..." A voice slowly hummed out all around him.   
"mmmm...yes that's it..."  
  
Aligning the nanites in his body, he sent a signal to the   
station computer to terminate all active connections with his   
ship. The effect was similar to the time when he was a teenager   
and he was pulled roughly from between his girl-friends legs by   
his hair and sent flying across the room. Just after he impacted   
an adjacent wall, he was to be greeted by the angry face of her   
father. Still couldn't figure out how he survived that one. Oh   
yeah, running. Lots of running.  
  
"HEY!" She protested.  
  
A digitized image of an achingly beautiful and very nude   
woman, colored in nothing but shades of green, appeared on the   
main screen.  
  
"Get the engines online Midori. We need to lift off two   
hours ago."  
  
"ooohhh..." she complained, "The main computer was sharing   
ALL his new information with me!" Her hands began to rove over   
her over abundant breasts, and down her digital torso between her   
high-resolution legs, "He has such a large bandwidth since the   
upgrade. I could have interfaced with him for hours and hours,   
while he pushed his files in me and..."  
  
"Midori..."  
  
"Hey you're awful tense cutie! Why not connect up to an   
interface port and I'll make sure you get serviced far better   
than that Juraian..."  
  
"Don't go there." He warned.  
  
She stuck her tongue at him, and licked sensuously once.   
Turning over, she cupped her hands under her chin as if propped   
up on the ground. The effect was totally given over to something   
a mite surreal as her large bosoms floated freely in the space   
beneath her, swaying as an algorithm mimicked breathing. "My   
engines are all warm lubricated dear. You have only to give the   
word, and I'll take you to heaven!"   
  
Seion couldn't help but chuckle. Trust his girl to put him   
in a good mood.  
  
"Then gimme some sugar baby!"  
  
Midori squealed with delight. "Aye Aye Captain! I'm   
getting off now!"  
  
--------------  
  
There was no way. There was no way in Hell that the   
scanner's readings of the planet Primus were accurate.  
  
"Nothing." She tapped it experimentally. No   
change...these things were nearly indestructible, so it was   
unlikely to be a glitch, but still..."No plants, no animals, no   
people. Not even any bacteria or other microbes."  
  
How was that possible? And if it wasn't some sort of   
jamming (which she hadn't ruled out) and the scanner wasn't on   
the fritz, what could make this possible?  
  
Briefly she considered calling for backup. She shook her   
head in exasperation when she realized what she was thinking.  
  
Old habits died hard. Even though she'd been on several   
assignments with Section X, the urge to 'call for backup' when   
something out of the ordinary popped up still figured largely in   
her original training. That's what Section X, the division that   
sent her out here, dealt with; so it rather defeated the intent   
of the mission. That and the fact that it would take at least   
three days for someone to get here made the idea somewhat   
impractical.  
  
Still, of all the really whacked out things she'd scouted   
out so far in her current job, this rated really high up there on   
the weird-shit-o-meter. Even watching time stop around her when   
Kain broke free at Seventh Headquarters didn't give her the   
creeps nearly as bad as a planet, once teeming with life and over   
a billion sentients, all of the sudden being as dead as the moons   
surrounding it.  
  
"Resume."   
  
The scanner obediently continued its sensor sweep of the   
planet, the readout appearing in the holoscreen projected above   
her wrist. Her glowing green eyes narrowed as the text began to   
scroll by.  
  
"You didn't go down without a fight, did you?"  
  
Battle damage. Radiation, indicative of nuclear and other,   
far more deadly, weapons employed, were present all over the   
planet. Hard to see with all the dust in the air, but then   
that's what happens when big holes are blown in a world.  
  
What would possibly scare them so badly they'd use weapons   
of mass destruction on their own planet? She was sure only the   
Terrans, and maybe the Tetranians, were that psychotic.  
  
"Strange."  
  
The radiation levels were decreasing a phenomenal rate, far   
faster than they should be. Almost as if something were sucking   
away the alphas, betas, and high-energy gammas.  
  
Aside from that, there was no trace of anything that could   
be causing this. Or wiped out all life from the face of the   
planet for that matter.  
  
She wondered if the other planets of this system shared the   
same fate. "Are we in range to scan Prima and Prime Nova?" A   
green holographic 'yes' appeared next to the screen. "Do so."  
  
She shook her head regretfully as the readings came up.   
They were identical to the readings on Primus. She was hoping   
for something more, something that would tell her what happened.  
  
Something that would tell her that all life in this star   
system wasn't just snuffed out.  
  
Crush - Brian Luzietti (Descent II Soundtrack)  
  
Realizing that little more information would be gained from   
space, she willed her energy form to move toward the planet where   
the scanner indicated the capital city of Primus should be.   
Given her body was presently a glowing green mass of articulate   
UEM based photons, she little more than blinked and found herself   
perched on top of what used to be the wall of a sky scraper.   
Light Speed (or very near it) she found very useful.   
  
The wall, however, was laying over the rubble of a few   
dozen lesser buildings. Its only purpose now was as a diving   
board into a sea of nuclear glass that used to be central park.   
Her eyes grew dim as she considered what she was standing on.   
Youma technology was biologically based; every single bit of it   
was alive and worked in harmony with the Youma and the world   
itself. Now...all that was left was a dried up shell amidst the   
ruined husk that used to be a living city on a now dead world.  
  
Putting a foot before her, it seemed she stepped out of a   
skin of emerald green light that quickly dissipated. Aside from   
her weapons and the scanner, this left her completely without   
clothing. She paused for one brief moment to run her fingers   
through her long teal colored hair.  
  
"Battle gear."  
  
Electricity ran over her body from head to foot. Where it   
passed it left her clothed from neck down in a skintight blue   
body suit with black ankle length boots designed for the most   
rugged of terrain. Only her hands and face were left bare and   
the scanner changed form to a more combat oriented device. Now   
it curved around the back of her head and around her ears,   
looking very much like a hair clip. A small piece of pink   
colored glass sprang out from the side of the device, covering   
her left eye and listing tactical data derived from its   
continuous scan of the surrounding area. She adjusted it   
absently and checked the placement of her weapons and pack to   
ensure both a snug fit and quick access should it be needed.  
  
"Where is the capitol building?"  
  
If anything had been recorded, she figured it would likely   
be there behind heavily shielded archives. It was fortunate, she   
noted, that there had been enough information on the Youma   
refugee ships that maps had been acquired for most of the worlds   
in their protectorate.  
  
An arrow pointing to her left appeared on the pink screen.   
She turned to that direction, and resigned herself to flying.   
Keeping to the ground, and avoiding possible aerial detection was   
not an option with all the debris in her way. Phasing herself   
through objects was also not an option; her computers and various   
other gear would not be able to accompany her through solid   
matter.  
  
A pulsing green aura of power appeared around her as she   
sprang into the air leaving behind an emerald colored vapor   
trail. She flew slowly at first, surveying the destruction first   
hand, and giving her scanner time to record the extent of the   
devastation. Also she hoped to find some possible clues that   
might shed some light on the situation.  
  
Nothing, she concluded. This place is as dead as the   
scanner says it is. Better to just get to the capitol building   
and get the information first hand. Poking around in these ruins   
won't get me what I'm pretty sure will be there.  
  
Unless, she grimaced to herself, whatever hit this place   
thought of that too? Still, it's a better lead than poking   
aimlessly around this junkyard.  
  
With that in mind she increased her speed until she felt   
herself breaking the sound barrier on this world. While her   
equipment and clothing was built to handle such stress, it would   
still create a rather noticeable sonic boom, and she'd rather not   
draw any more attention to herself than she probably had at this   
point (if there was anything to draw attention to, she added).   
She wasn't willing to take more chances than she had to, and   
besides...  
  
This place was really making her wish she was not there.  
  
She arrived at the building in a few galactic standard   
minutes, or at least what was left of it. It had once been a   
proud structure of metal, and gold colored synthetics, standing   
at least a couple of kilometers wide and many thousands of meters   
high. Now, it looked barely habitable for those annoying Mon   
things the kids over the cosmos were collecting.  
  
"Where was the main server?" An arrow pointing down   
appeared on her view screen. "Of course. Silly me." She   
hovered over the rubble looking for an access point of any type.   
She considered phasing, but she'd need the scanner with her...an   
interesting dilemma.  
  
"Is there a stairway? Turbo lift shaft? Ventilation?   
Anything leading down there?"  
  
A schematic of what the building used to look like was   
pulled up on the screen. Many glowing dots, denoting all the   
requested access points blinked on the screen. She smiled,   
according to the data one of the main access lifts was not far   
from her present position. She just hoped luck was on her side,   
and it wasn't caved in to the point she couldn't at the very   
most, blast her way through.  
  
-------------------  
  
Funeral for a Friend - Elton John  
  
"Now what did you want me to see again?"  
  
The man smoothed back his shock of bright red brown hair   
and gestured to the world below them in space, "Take a look."   
  
The other lifted his reed boshi and did as he was bid.  
  
"Strange," he said after a moment, "I've heard from a few   
of the others that they've seen similar occurrences across the   
cosmos, but their investigations turned up absolutely   
nothing...except a lot of blown up shit." His eyes narrowed,   
"This one is far more recent, however. Perhaps only a few days   
old."  
  
"Yes," the one with the red hair agreed, "I was about to   
check it out, but considering you have a certain...interest in   
the Youma, I figured you'd want to see this too."  
  
The other man chuckled slightly, "Thanks." His eyes   
narrowed suddenly, "Rumia?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
The one in the reed boshi nodded toward part of the planet,   
"What is that?"  
  
"That, master?" Rumia looked. "Oh. Her." Rumia's   
companion raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I noticed her the second she   
came out of hyperspace. She speaks in radio if you can believe   
that. I think she's a member of the GP."  
  
He considered this new information for a brief moment,   
"Major Kiyone?"  
  
Rumia nodded, "Yeah, I think so. She's the only one I know   
of whose description fits. Haven't hacked their files in a month   
or so; so I don't know if they've 'acquired' any other operatives   
like her."  
  
"So, the GP know." the one Rumia called master surmised.   
"Is the rest of the Youma space like this?"  
  
"Haven't had the time to check, but whatever hit them, ran   
over them like they were nothing, so I expect so. What I don't   
get is why they were limited to planetary defenses. Where are   
their warships? Their planet killers?" He gestured to the space   
around them, "This place should be littered with bodies!"  
  
The master shrugged, "I know. This looks more like the   
galactic middle finger raised in the Ultimate Last Great Act of   
Defiance(tm)." He rubbed his eyes under his sunglasses and   
sighed again, "What I don't get is how this is happening right   
under our noses. I mean did you feeling anything?"  
  
"Other than that weird sense of something coming we've all   
been getting?" The master nodded, "Nope. Not even a billion   
billion voices crying out and suddenly being silenced. That kind   
of thing tends to draw attention...you alright?"  
  
Red energy had slowly begun leaking out from the master's   
eyes and was progressively growing darker.  
  
"No, I'm not 'alright.' Let's get a move on and check out   
the rest of the..."  
  
"Hey. Listen, I think we should wait here awhile," Rumia   
raised his hands defensively as the master's eyes turned toward   
him in a sooty red glare of rage.  
  
The red energy leaking from the master's eyes ceased   
instantly, and his brow furrowed as he regarded Rumia. He turned   
and glided closer to Primus, putting himself in a geosyncronous   
orbit above what used to be the capitol, Rumia quickly following  
  
"You're right, of course. If there is anything anywhere   
around here, there's a good chance Ms. Bright, Green, and Glowing   
down there will draw it out."  
  
"There are two of us. You or I could still..." the master   
shook his head at the suggestion, "naah, you're right. Better   
not chance it."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Hey, look at it this way..." One of the master's eyes   
quirked up questioningly.   
  
"If something does pop up you'll get to do the lightning   
and thunder thing you get SUCH a kick out of..."   
  
"Yes," the master said as his war hammer returned to his   
hand, "Silence is certainly an improvement." As an afterthought   
the master grabbed the stunned Rumia before he could drift into   
the atmosphere.   
  
-------------------------  
  
Kiyone slowly drifted down the final few feet of the turbo-  
lift shaft that led to the main server room. She had been   
fortunate in that she had first found a clear stairway that,   
while blocked off after about half a kilometer down, led to a   
junction in the main ventilation shafts. After that, it had been   
a bit of trial and error, but with her scanner and ability to   
control most of the electromagnetic spectrum (including X-rays)   
she had managed to see her way through to a relatively clear path   
via the ventilation, turbo lifts, and stair wells.   
  
Now she was almost to her destination. The closer she got,   
the more intense the cold feeling that ran up and down what now   
passed for her skin. Something was just not right about this   
place...other than the obvious lack of anything living.  
  
Her weapon had been drawn a long time ago, and she readied   
it as she touched down. Quickly she covered the area: An open   
doorway, a hall with is varied defenses opened and seemingly   
spent, and the gateway to her goal standing ajar.  
  
She bit back an expletive, and hoped something in that room   
survived whatever hit this planet. Her gun still at the ready,   
she proceeded onward staying close to the wall. Though now   
immune to most standard energy and projectile weapons, there were   
still quite a number (two of which were presently on her person)   
that could tear her apart. She wasn't willing to take the chance   
that anything that might be on the other side of that door wasn't   
carrying such a device.  
  
After clearing the hallway and securing the room, she   
holstered her weapon, but left it unclasped for quick access.   
Now her job was to take stock of whatever information she could   
salvage from this mess of...  
  
"Fuck."  
  
The server was dead. It's once bright green vines, firm   
branches, and crisp leaves were shriveled and dry. No life   
pulsed in what used to be the very brain and heart of the   
information system of this world. It was already beginning to   
turn to dust as if it had been left derelict for years. The rest   
of the place was similarly drained, the various terminals and   
control points that once pulsed with bio energy surrounded by   
teams of technicians...all decaying. She supposed it was   
fortunate whatever organic materials these buildings were made of   
was made of sterner stuff. If this server were any indication,   
the buildings wouldn't last more than maybe a month. Two at the   
most. It also explained why she had found no bodies. Such   
deterioration would have taken them and anything similarly 'soft'   
within hours of what could have done this.  
  
What COULD have done this, she wondered again.  
  
Her shoulders slumped, and she let herself relax against   
the wall.  
  
NOTHING! She despaired silently. There's no way I can   
extract anything from these living computers! Even their backups   
were organic based, and whatever hit this place sucked every bit   
of bio energy from the planet! And the degradation is...  
  
Her musings cut short when her scanner clicked on. Her   
hand strayed toward her gun before she realized it was trying to   
lead her to a terminal on the other side of the room. The AI in   
the scanners was relatively primitive in comparison to a ship's,   
but given a mission statement it would help their users in many   
innocuous ways.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Standard ISCS output data crystal." Now that it was out of   
the vacuum of space, it could vocalize its output if it found it   
necessary to do so.  
  
"WHAT?" She shot up in surprise and rushed over to the   
station in question. "How..?" She scanned the output device for   
some means of ejecting it. Finding none (she absently noted it   
was most likely absorbed into the system and regurgitated later,   
which was an impossibility now), she smashed the area indicated   
by the scanner. Withdrawing a whole mass of carbonized organic   
parts, she sifted through it. Within moments she withdrew what   
could have been the Holy Grail, judging by the look of elation   
upon her face.  
  
A crystal, no bigger than a child's fingernail, glinted off   
the emerald illumination she was emitting.   
  
Did they expect someone like me to find it, she wondered.  
  
Quickly she pulled off her scanner and inserted the gem into the   
port in back of the earpiece. She could barely wait 'til it had   
scanned the data encoded upon it as she put it back around her   
head.  
  
The scanner clicked on immediately.  
  
A set of tentacles suddenly impacted where she'd been   
kneeling on the floor.   
  
"The hell?" she mumbled from her position on the ceiling on   
the other side of the room, gun at the ready. Good thing her   
scanner was quite adept at detecting motion around her.  
  
A pair of red glowing orbs turned to regard her from the   
entrance, becoming slits of bloody light as its appendages pulled   
back into its body.  
  
---------------------  
  
Rumia rubbed the back of his head where the war hammer had   
impacted and complained, "Ah man...did you have to hit me so   
hard, old timer?" Expecting some sort of sarcastic rejoinder   
Rumia was surprised when the one Rumia named as 'master' made   
ready hammer and began gathering his energies.  
  
"Huh? What are you..?" Rumia's gaze flew down to the   
planet, and without skipping a beat pulled a staff with an   
elongated blade on each end out of hyperspace.  
  
"Ah shit! Here we go!" He didn't even try to keep the   
elation out of his voice. Finally, some action.  
  
---------------------  
  
Kiyone dimmed her radiance and flashed over to the other   
side of the room. The appendages of the thing she dodged a   
second ago slammed into her former place on the ceiling. A   
second set of tentacles slashed next to her, prompting her to   
move again.  
  
Whatever it is, it's fast! I can't get a good shot at it.   
But...she noted, it's staying in one place, maybe I can...  
  
Her hand waved out wildly as she dodged another attack,   
sending out a wave of green energy at the ceiling above her   
opponent. A couple of tons of rock and organic debris   
immediately crushing the tentacled being. The room shook   
violently, but somehow held; in retrospect she considered that   
might not have been one of her brighter ideas. She nearly   
brought the entire place down around her ears, and tunneling out   
was going to be a bitch.  
  
The debris blew outward as the thing broke free. It   
probably would have been a more dramatic reemergence, if not for   
the fact this blast DID start bringing the whole place down.  
  
Kiyone quickly considered her options. This probably   
wouldn't hurt her, but the scanner and the crystal needed to get   
back to Section X in relatively one piece...and even its durable   
construction wouldn't survive a whole cave in. On the other hand   
she didn't have to be careful of possibly harming any more   
information, and her life was in relative danger.  
  
She extended her hands above her and flew up, emitting a   
continuous stream of energy that disintegrated everything above   
her. At the speed she was going it acted like the shield she   
didn't dare extend from her body for fear of what it would do to   
the scanner.  
  
Within moments she blasted from the building, like a green   
planet killing super laser. She stopped almost a mile above the   
imploding capitol building, and hovered.  
  
"Did you get a good look at what that thing was?" Kiyone   
asked the scanner.  
  
"Negative."  
  
It was the answer she was expecting, but she was hoping the   
device had managed a visual on the thing. It would give an   
identity to those responsible for what happened here, or at the   
very least a good lead. Too bad it had buried itself in rubble,   
and given its destructive capability she wasn't about to start   
digging for it either. She had the feeling though, that if it   
did survive, she'd know soon enough.  
  
In this she was not disappointed. As she had done before,   
the thing itself blasted its way out of the newly collapsed   
rubble and debris. On the upside, now she'd probably get a good   
scan of it. The downside, however, was she'd probably have to   
try to fight it before she'd gained enough data on this being   
that she could try to lose it and hyper-space outta this system.  
  
Maybe not such a down side, she thought with a smirk. It   
had been awhile since she had seen any action...and she had been   
itching to try out her powers for real. It was irresponsible in   
one way of looking at things, but she needed to give her scanner   
time to make some recordings, and Seion's ill-gotten gun would   
end it far too quickly. She reached down and tapped both the   
sidearm and the knife on her thighs, ensuring they were still   
there and ready for action. Still, she might need them if things   
went beyond what she could handle; and survival was still   
paramount in this game.  
  
Gently she glided down nearly a block away from the entity   
that had been scanning the area for her, presumably. Once she   
got close enough, the thing immediately turned toward her, and   
she got her first good look of what 'it' was.  
  
Iron Man - Black Sabbath  
  
"Great Goddess, have mercy," she uttered.  
  
How could this be?! That's a Youma male, she realized in   
disbelief.  
  
Mostly humanoid mammal in appearance, 'he' had the   
prerequisite bipedal appearance with two arms and two legs and   
facial features typical of that sort of creature. After that   
they got a bit different. The hands and feet of the males   
sported six digits with an extra joint each giving them a far   
greater scope of manipulation most races had to use mechanical   
assistance to achieve. To further their manipulatory   
superiority, their backs sported a number of extra muscles that   
connected to six 'tentacles' of additional extendable muscle that   
weaved and bobbed in the wind when not in use. In this case they   
were tense and jutted out at all sides.  
  
Those are what he used to attack me with, she realized, but   
there is no way they could have extended as far as they did. And   
those energy blasts are at a level way beyond the current   
capabilities of their race. How did this guy get so much power?  
  
That's when it hit her. He looked a bit off before, but   
now as she got closer she saw that this was actually little more   
than a parody of what used to be a Youma man. What she saw was   
completely metallic, possibly technorganic, but regardless this   
was not what it appeared to be at first glace.  
  
"Scanner block," her scanner announced, "In-depth scans   
impossible." Which explains why it didn't pick anything up down   
here. So far she'd only seen one of...whatever this thing really   
was, but there was no telling how many more there MIGHT be.   
Suddenly blasting this thing with the Quantum Destabilizer seemed   
like a better option than before. Still...a measurement of this   
thing's capabilities would prove to be an incredible tactical   
advantage if and/or when it came time to fight these things.  
  
The chief was going to lighten her ass a few pounds when   
she got back to HQ.  
  
So far 'he' had yet to make any movement, hostile or   
otherwise, in her direction. Well, let no one say I didn't at   
least try to be civil, she smirked.   
  
"Oi! Any particular reason you're trying to kill me? If   
it's about the computer, sorry about that, but even you gotta   
admit it was due for upgrade anyway!" She barely managed to   
dodge the answering energy blast.  
  
Quickly she returned fire in the form of a stream of pure   
UEM force hitting it dead center in an explosion of emerald fire.   
This had the added effect of further hastening the inward   
collapse of the capitol building, and kicking up an enormous   
amount of dust. As if there wasn't enough in the air already.  
  
"Well, that wasn't too terribly difficult," she remarked as   
the dust settled.   
  
There at the epicenter, the only thing left of 'him' was a   
disjointed mass of body parts spread over the landscape.  
  
She frowned. True, pure UEM was incredibly hard to shield   
against, and that's what she just sent his direction, but still,   
this should not have been so simple. There was no way something   
as easily destroyed could have been what took this place out...  
  
"Oh." The parts turned into an amorphous amoebic substance   
and converged on a central point, gaining more and more mass,   
'til finally a figure began to ooze up from the growing pool of   
liquid metal returning to its previous form.  
  
And it was not looking very happy.  
  
Nonchalantly, she pulled her side arm and shot it.  
  
She decided there was a certain morbid fascination involved   
in watching the golden beam strike and envelope the object of her   
ire, scattering its presence on every plane of existence half way   
across the galaxy. Not even a temporal shadow would bring this   
thing back. Of course, the technology for that particular trick   
was something Seion had told her about in passing as being so   
tightly controlled by the Juraians and the Galaxy Academy that   
even the mere idea it could be done was discouraged.  
  
Holstering her weapon she turned and walked right into the   
business end of a group of high-speed tentacles.  
  
--------------------  
  
"How long?" Seion asked.  
  
All traces of her playful flirting gone, Midorishu replied,   
"At least a couple of more hours."  
  
Seion glanced at her engine indicators and snorted in   
disdain. He was already pushing his girl way beyond her rated   
tolerances and didn't dare ask her to warp hyperspace any   
further.  
  
DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! Why doesn't she ever listen to me!?   
  
"I'd expect that's because she's related to you. Stubborn,   
but loveable."  
  
He glanced to his side, noting that she had chosen to go   
with her holographic presentation vice her digital representation   
on the view screen. For a change she was actually clothed in a   
modest white house robe over her green 'skin.' He still didn't   
get why she was wearing old style glasses. Nor had he realized   
he'd said the last aloud. Regardless, he took Midorishu's   
comment in the manner it was intended.  
  
"Thanks beautiful."  
  
She smiled whimsically and cursed she couldn't hug him.   
"At least you had the foresight to tell her scanner to report   
back to us. The time delay is nonexistent as close as we are."  
  
"For all the good it does me now. She's bitten off more   
than she can chew."  
  
"She's strong. Like you."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
You better survive sis.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
Paranoid - Black Sabbath  
  
STUPID! I AM STUPID!  
  
Self-remonstrations aside Kiyone also found herself   
propelled through the air. Not to mention through what used to   
be a skyscraper and quite a number of other buildings before she   
managed to stop herself.  
  
Another of those Youma looking things had taken her by   
surprise and she walked right into his attack.  
  
Not this time. She barely had herself righted when it came   
screaming in her direction, only to fly into an energy-enhanced   
uppercut that ripped it messily in twain. The Quantum   
Destabilizer found its way back to her waiting hand, and two   
shots were fired at the pieces fast enough to make one doubt   
there was only the single weapon.  
  
She tried to take to the air with the intention of escaping   
the planet's gravity well. Before the thought was translated   
into motion, another tentacle had wrapped around her and slammed   
her roughly into the junk around her.  
  
So far she hadn't actually been hurt, but she was expending   
energy. Far more than the weak rays of the sun were able to   
replenish. It would only be a matter of time before she'd go   
insubstantial weather she wanted to or not, and she didn't dare   
let that happen. Not with the cargo she was carrying around her   
head.  
  
Unfortunately, though it had not managed to disarm her, it   
had her well and truly pinned.  
  
She had lost strength, but nowhere near the point where she   
shouldn't have been able to overpower this thing. Were they able   
to adapt to the threats they faced, she wondered.  
  
If so, the implications of what they had just done to the   
Youma did not bode well for the rest of the galaxy, and certainly   
not very well for her right at this moment.  
  
The tentacle around her torso began to writhe around her   
moving its tip up between her breasts and, "Hey, what are   
you...HEY!"  
  
Visions of that animated feature she and a few of her   
friends had smuggled from Earth and watched completely blitz   
drunk bubbled up in her mind as it slipped its appendage down her   
collar and between her breasts.  
  
"Oh no, you ARE NOT DOING THAT!" She dropped the gun and   
began shooting it with her resident power. But for whatever   
reason, be it her reduced energy state, their seeming ability to   
adapt, or her distraction via the tentacle wiggling around her   
pulchritude, it was just not doing the job.   
  
Suddenly it stopped, and she felt the tentacle change and   
split apart. Thousands of other smaller probes that began to   
wriggle and squirm around her chest like a billion little worms   
poking and prodding her. If 'he' actually had facial   
expressions, she could have sworn he looked...puzzled.  
  
"Warning, nano invasion detected." Nano invasion? "Your   
energy signature is uncompromised. Hypothesis: Nanites appear   
to be bio-energy collectors. It is trying to assimilate your   
bioenergy, but it cannot adjust itself to your UEM base."  
  
Energy assimilation? So these WERE to blame for what   
happened here! Or at the very least were the weapons of those   
responsible!  
  
THIS IS WHAT DESTROYED THE YOUMA!  
  
Her eyes narrowed and she concentrated every last bit of   
energy she dared muster into a single blast of bright green rage.  
  
Admittedly not quite as precise as the QD, but the   
resulting explosion and termination of that nanotech monster was   
far more satisfying.  
  
She slid to the ground in exhaustion. Ruthlessly she   
crushed the urge to discorporate; she was not going to lose   
control of her scanner for any reason.  
  
Especially not with the veritable army of those beings   
popping up from the ruins around her.  
  
She fingered her gun, and then shook her head. Kiyone   
realized if she wanted to survive she probably didn't have a   
choice but to drop everything and 'go ghost'. She pulled her   
scanner off, hoping against all odds that she'd be able to come   
back for it. Then she started discorporating, only to find that   
she had somehow traveled about a kilometer in the air instantly.  
  
"That wasn't very nice of them, was it? Molesting a pretty   
little energy girl like you without permission is quite rude. At   
the very least they could have ensured you'd enjoy it."  
  
And she was being held...by a Juraian?!  
  
"How do Major? Run into a bit of a problem did you?"  
  
"Who..?"  
  
"Name's Rumia. I haven't qualified as 'Juraian' for   
centuries, so get that thought out of your head."  
  
"How..?"  
  
"None of your concern, pretty girl." He cocked a   
mischievous grin at her, "Course if you see your brother before   
we do, tell him I'll pay him that twenty I owe him in a couple of   
weeks, eh?"  
  
She suddenly found herself, still in Rumia's arms, in   
orbit. "What..?"  
  
"Had to get you out of there. Didn't want to confuse you   
too badly, being who you are and all. I'd like to continue to   
discuss a possible business deal with you, but I'm afraid the old   
man will vaporize all the nifty nano-warriors down there, and we   
need at least one still intact." He shook his head, muttering   
something about senile old geezers as he set her adrift, "In any   
case you wait here, and suck up cosmic rays. Oh and..." He set   
her scanner a few feet away from her. "Try not to lose that eh?   
We'd all LOVE to see what's on it later!"  
  
"The hell just happened?" she mumbled as she lost   
consciousness and physical cohesion.  
  
-----------------------  
  
Long Way Down - Goo Goo Dolls  
  
Rumia appeared on the surface close to where he had found   
the weakened Major. He lifted his arm to his side and casually   
caught one of the flying nano-tech warriors being forcibly   
propelled his direction. He glanced at it, shrugged and   
enveloped it in a field of blue energy, causing it to vanish a   
moment later.  
  
"Okay, sample acquired. Now," His dual bladed staff   
appeared in his hand and glee in his eyes, "let's blow things   
up!" Glee that turned to consternation when he found himself   
struck from behind and sent through a few hundred tons of   
carbonized organic building material.  
  
Not being one to be discouraged for such a trivial thing,   
he allowed the debris to slow him down. Arching to the ground,   
he planned on bouncing back toward his current opponent, through   
the rubble, in a wave of purple fiery death to which nothing   
would escape. When he found his face in the dirt again from an   
opportunistic tentacle that had sprung from the ground he was   
still not discouraged. No, now his current state was one of mild   
annoyance.  
  
Creating his own tunnel through the ground, he found the   
annoying Youma looking Nano-warrior and sliced it from bow to   
stern. The landscape from there to the horizon sported a two   
dimensional vertical slice.  
  
The would be tentacle monster fell into its component   
quarks.  
  
Turning quickly, he opted to phase his body through vice   
tunneling. He raised his dual bladed staff in preparation to   
attack; a singular blade rose from the ground and wove its way to   
its mark at near the speed of light.  
  
Rumia flowed from the ground, leaving ripples in his wake,   
and cut down his first attacker.  
  
His brow furrowed when he spied the master in a canyon that   
had just not been there before, nearly a block away.  
  
The old warrior seemed surrounded. Yet as the many around   
him struck and blasted at him in a concerted effort only   
networked computers or telepaths with gestalt capabilities could   
accomplish, it became obvious who had who surrounded.   
  
His body surrounded by writhing blue lightning, he dodged   
and weaved around their tentacles, limbs, and energy attacks with   
laughable ease. Each time he drew near one, his hammer or fist   
struck leaving nothing but blue electric death behind him.  
  
Coming to his final enemy, he opted instead to grab this   
one by its neck, and lift it from the ground. The living power   
around him danced from his form into the Youma mockery before   
him. The rubble in their battleground was channeled away from   
the excess power that was discharged from both their bodies.   
Proving to be a fatal attack, nothing remained of the being   
before the master; not even a dimensional after image.  
  
He raised his hands joyously; sending a blast of pure   
electron might into the atmosphere. The thunder struck every   
plain of existence, deafening everything around Sentinel Prime.  
  
His victory was short lived. Hundreds began popping up   
from the ruins around them both.   
  
"Hey, don't kill em all now! Leave a few for me!" Rumia   
cried from his perch on the artificial cliff.  
  
Before he moved to join in the mayhem, all the creatures   
ceased any other motion, and looked up.   
  
Noticing they had a new preoccupation - something one does   
not get in battle without a REALLY good reason - the master   
ceased what was turning into a wholesale slaughter of their   
forces. His gaze wandered up to where those beings had focused   
their attention and tried to discern what the hell they were   
looking at.  
  
"Hey! Old Guy! Look at Sentinel Prime!"  
  
He did as Rumia suggested (making a mental note to thump   
him harder next time for the old guy cracks), looking deep within   
the sun to see what it was that had his former student so   
disconcerted. Absently he noted the beings around him turning to   
liquid metal and flowing underground.  
  
"Well. That certainly looks ominous doesn't it?"  
  
"Oh yeah. Someone just dropped a space-time disruption   
into said ball of gaseous fusion."  
  
The older one nodded thoughtfully, "Yes. Makes you   
completely untraceable, even to us. I suppose we should go and   
round up the cute Major then. We'd easily survive this, but I   
doubt she'd be able to."  
  
Rumia nodded, "Yeah, and we should probably wait on Major   
Seion and see he doesn't get turned into his component particles   
before his time."  
  
As they both shifted their importance in the cosmos to the   
orbit of the planet they'd been standing on, the master raised an   
eyebrow at him, in an unmistakable question of what Rumia was   
talking about.   
  
"Her brother bugged her scanner, it's been sending a   
continuous live feed of info to him as he trucks merrily away   
through hyperspace at redline." Rumia expounded.  
  
Rumia's companion gathered the nebulous green form of   
Kiyone into his arms. For a moment he too glowed green and   
seemingly pushing that emerald aura into the insubstantial Major.   
This had the effect of restoring to the girl a measure of   
cohesion, so that in his arms a sleeping, yet very nude and   
beautiful woman had materialized.  
  
Rumia patiently drew her backpack, knife, QD, and scanner   
to himself; the latter he waved gently to his companion, "Nifty   
device. It can morph into a couple of useable forms to be   
strapped to your wrist or around your head like it is now."  
  
Mostly because he was uninterested in the tech specs of   
recent toys, the master replied condescendingly, "So, you want to   
warn Seion what he's about to fly into," To emphasize his point,   
he nodded in the direction of the sun. It was beginning to erupt   
violently around its outer edge in colors that walked their way   
around the entire electromagnetic spectrum and beyond.  
  
"Yeah, suppose I better." Rumia tapped a couple of times on   
the scanner, "Yo Seion! I'm making myself audible to you now, so   
don't worry that the thing is reporting that we're in deep space.   
Go ahead and talk freely, I'm sure you've figured out right at   
this moment who's talking to you."  
  
A bit of static and a moment later, a slightly grainy tenor   
voice replied, "Oh man! Not you guys! Why oh why are you   
getting involved?" A pause, "Is my sister okay?"  
  
"She's fine," the older one holding the major assured him.  
  
"Cool, cool." Another pause, "Why are you all involved in   
this situation? What's so important in the Sentinel Prime star   
system to get not one, but two of you out there?"  
  
Rumia hedged, "Well uhh...about that."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, for one, I think you should quit talking about   
Sentinel Prime."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
Kiyone was waking up under extreme duress, but something   
was telling her in no uncertain terms to come to, right NOW. As   
she regained her senses, she noted she was both nude and in the   
depths. She noted next she was being cradled like a baby and was   
far too tired to do anything about it. Finally she realized that   
there was someone next to her shouting into her scanner...and for   
some reason she could hear him.   
  
"Because..."  
  
Kiyone was then treated to a scene she'd see in many a   
nightmare to come, as the sun was sliced open by the forces   
raging inside of it, to spew its cosmic guts all over creation.   
Thankfully consciousness left her in short order when the   
enormity of what just happened washed over her.  
  
"...it's just not there anymore."  
  
End Theme - Dreams - Van Halen  



End file.
